Crystal Palace vs Hartlepool: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction - FA Cup

Crystal Palace continue their FA Cup campaign on Saturday afternoon when they host lower-league Hartlepool at Selhurst Park.

The Eagles, despite not having won either of their Premier League matches since their beating of Millwall in the last round, have continued to show good signs under Patrick Vieira. A fantastic second half showing against Liverpool was not enough to avoid an eventual but largely underserved 3-1 defeat last time out.

Round five looks an inevitability as they aim to overcome League Two side Hartlepool. Graeme Lee's side sit 16th in England's fourth tier, having failed to win a league match since early December. The Pools knocked out Championship Blackpool to reach this stage of the tournament, so they won't just lie down and take a drubbing from their top-flight hosts.

Here's 90min's preview of this one.

How to watch Crystal Palace vs Hartlepool on TV

When is kick off? Saturday 5 February, 15:00 (GMT)
Where is it being played? Selhurst Park, London
What TV channel is it on? Not televised in the UK, ESPN+ (US)
Highlights? BBC Sport and Emirates FA Cup YouTube channels
Who's the referee? Peter Bankes
Who's the VAR? John Brooks

Crystal Palace team news

Cheikhou Kouyate's Senegal made it through to the Africa Cup of Nations final on Wednesday night, so the midfielder will remain out of contention due to international commitments.

Elsewhere, in what is currently a very fresh-looking squad, the hosts' only absentees are James Tomkins and James McArthur - both through injury - with a fair bit of competition for places going on in the build-up to this cup clash.

You can read Palace's predicted lineup here.

Hartlepool team news

After receiving a red card in Hartlepool's 0-0 draw at Exeter last time out, Nicky Featherstone - one of the team's standout performers this term - will miss out on the trip to London.

Striker Omar Bogle made his debut in that stalemate after signing in the January transfer window, and will be dreaming of bagging his first goal in Pool colours at Palace. He will likely retain his place in the frontline despite competition from the likes of Joe Grey, Luke Molyneux, Mark Cullen, and Fela Olomola, while fellow forward Marcus Carver is still recovering from a groin strain.

Crystal Palace vs Hartlepool head to head record

Meetings between these two clubs have become a rarity since the beginning of the 1960s.

When both were in the old Division Four, the Eagles came out on top in what was a closely-contested fixture, winning three encounters while Hartlepool were victorious twice. A solitary draw appeased both sides at the start of the 1960/61 season.

Since then, they've only met in cup competitions - although the record has stayed as even ever, with both sides winning twice alongside a draw. Their only encounter in the past 29 years, however, went Palace's way - a 2-1 League Cup victory in 2004.

The result on Saturday may be easier to predict than history suggests but, whatever happens, we could be in store for some goals; in these two clubs' 11 meetings, there have been 42 of them scored.

Crystal Palace vs Hartlepool prediction

With this fixture's historical penchant for goals in mind, it would be rude not to be gifted a little goalfest on Saturday afternoon, wouldn't it?

Although Palace have all too often struggled to convert their promising performances into tangible results, their strong and fit squad should be far too much to handle for League Two Hartlepool.

The Pools' dumping of Blackpool suggests they're not adverse to upsetting the odds, but progression from this tie would take a minor - not even that minor - miracle; sorry Jeff Sterling.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 4-0 Hartlepool