Pardew seeks Palace momentum

Alan Pardew has no intention of making wholesale changes to his starting XI against Manchester United despite Crystal Palace heading to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Palace travel to Old Trafford on Wednesday just three days on from their 1-1 draw at Arsenal – where Yannick Bolasie rescued a point at Emirates Stadium – while their cup meeting with Watford is only four days later.

Despite the hectic schedule, Pardew insists he has never considered fielding a weakened side to help aid their cup dreams.

“I don’t think anyone will look at our side and worry about us putting an under-strength team out when they see the team-sheet,” Pardew told a news conference. 

“We need to be strong and keep focus, so I am not going to change my team completely. I don’t believe in that.

“It’s been a long time since we have had much momentum, and I think that is more important than rest. So I want to keep the momentum of this team, certainly until the end of the season. 

“There’ll be one or two changes because I will definitely need to increase the energy, and we have got one or two problems.

“Yala [Bolasie] has got an issue, [Joel] Ward will definitely miss the game, and Scott Dann is struggling with the injury he picked up at Arsenal. 

“Joe Ledley has also got a knock, so we have got a few problems. They should all be okay for Sunday but they are not going to make Manchester United.”

Whoever Pardew does select, he expects them to be in for a tough evening on Wednesday as United – who are four points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal – look to maintain their Champions League charge.

He added: “Defensively we’ve been very, very sound and we need to take that to Man United, because there’s just a bit more energy in that side than there was in the first half of the season. They’ve picked up and we need to be ready for them.”