Arbeloa not taking Palace lightly despite poor run of form

Alvaro Arbeloa has insisted that Crystal Palace remain dangerous despite their poor run of form.

Fulham take on Palace at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night, in a huge game for both sides in the Carabao Cup.

It is the opportunity to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and with it of course, get to just two games away from Wembley.

Fulham have reached at least the quarter-finals of cup competitions in each of the last four seasons and so they will hope to continue that trend this time around.

But, while they are the clear favourites to defeat a Crystal Palace side who are struggling, Arbeloa makes it very clear that he is not underestimating the Eagles and that their poor form in the Premier League has little bearing on how ready they are for this fixture.

“Well, you know what, when you are not in your best moment, every game is an opportunity, and I think they will come here thinking about a good opportunity to win a game, to win a cup game, to be in the next round,” Arbeloa said.

“So, for them, it’s a good opportunity, and of course they will come with desire, with the same desire like us.

“But we are thinking in ourselves and what we have to do against a very good team that obviously has very good players.

“We will see tomorrow; it's another London derby, and maybe a revenge for us because we want to win the game that we lost some weeks ago. We are thinking that tomorrow is going to be difficult.”

Fulham have seemingly rediscovered their form, beating both Hull and Coventry in the Premier League and they have a big game coming up against Aston Villa on Saturday night as they look to go three from three in the top flight.

That has many feeling that Fulham are likely to rotate their side for the visit of Palace in the Carabao Cup.

Arbeloa, though, is clear that he wants to put out his strongest possible team for this game and that he is not yet thinking about the Aston Villa match.

“I expect to put the strongest team possible tomorrow,” he added.

“Obviously, we played three days ago, and we have another match in three days, but I am thinking about winning this game. Only thinking about that.”

Fulham’s turnaround has been remarkable in its nature, not least down to the speed of it.

The Cottagers have managed to very quickly go from zero points and seemingly heading to the Championship, to recovering with two important wins and eight points from the last five matches.

That has greatly allayed all fears that Fulham were heading for the Championship next season, and that in all reality, they may in fact be able to look at how high up the table they can finish, rather than nervously looking over their shoulder.

A lot of credit for that needs to go to Arbeloa, who has ridden the wave and when it seemed almost completely certain he was going to lose his job, managed to turn things around at the crucial point.

It is for that reason, with Fulham now sitting in 15th in the Premier League table after eight matches, that the Cottagers are able to look at the Carabao Cup as something to relish and enjoy, rather than a potential distraction, and so it is no surprise that Arbeloa is taking the competition so seriously.

“For me, this cup is really important,” he said.

“It's a great opportunity for us to reach a final - three more games; we are not far. 

“We are playing at home, against a team that, like I said before, beat us some weeks ago, so I am thinking about the best XI that I can put on the pitch.

“Tomorrow is an important game for us. It's like a final; we know that. 

“Important game for us because we want to be there, and yes, we are ready for another battle.”