Grant McCann's Doncaster Rovers are standing between Crystal Palace and this seasons Fa Cup fifth round. The two sides last met back in 2019 in the same competition albeit a round later after Doncaster knocked out four other teams before a 2-0 defeat at home to Palace.
There has be some change for both sides since that last game, Rovers were a league one outfit first of all whereas they now sit in league two. As for Palace they were managed by Roy Hodgson at the time, with Joel Ward being the only player still at the club to this day who was in the squad at that current time.
Palace overcome League one side Stockport County in the previous round 1-0 thanks to Ebere Eze, while Doncaster saw off Hull City of the Championship on penalties after the game finished 1-1.
The League two side currently sit third in the league as they look to gain promotion back to the third tier of English football while Palace are 12th in the Premier league. This tie represents the biggest gap in league position between any two teams left in the competition.
It is never as straight forward as it seems however, it is never an easy task to go away to a lower-league team and progress with ease and Oliver Glasner's side will need to be on top form to progress to the next round.
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Room for Wharton?
Last weekend's victory over Manchester United saw the return of Adam Wharton for Crystal Palace, his first appearance since the end of October where he was subbed off against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.
Since then the midfielder has undergone surgery on his groin and slowly built himself up to the level he was at pre injury, which is only a positive for the Eagles.
His manager has admitted the 21-year-old is ready to start but needs to be cautious when managing his minutes as he works his way back to his best.
If the England international is to start on Monday night he will more than likely be subbed off around half time so he is not pushed too far, but his manager is said to be delighted with his recovery and is more than pleased to have him back in the squad.
Adding Wharton back into the team will allow Palace to move the ball forward quicker when in transition, something that's been missing in recent months when Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma have been playing.
Palace will not want to rush Wharton back and risk further injury, but to have him in and around the team again is no doubt a major boost.
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Chilwell or Mitchell?
January deadline day newcomer Ben Chilwell who is on loan from Chelsea is also in contention to start on Monday evening. He however has only played 45 minutes of football all seats after being axed from the first team by Enzo Maresca.
Much like Wharton, Chilwell will need to be introduced slowly to build himself up to his best after not played a competitive game in so long.
Glasner did mention in his press conference on Friday that he is hesitant to start both Wharton and Chilwell due to the pair needing to be subbed around the same time and only leaving himself with three for the rest of the game.
If is it not to be Chilwell then Tyrick Mitchell who has featured in every game this season apart from the one in the previous round will be ready to go in the left wing back position.
This area of the pitch has been one Palace have needed to strengthen for some time with Mitchell the only natural option Glasner has at his disposal, the incoming of Chilwell provides good completion and a different skill set to Mitchell's.
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Who replaces Ebere Eze?
Palace's star man will be absent for the trip to Doncaster Glasner has confirmed after revealing the forward had been carrying an injury since Christmas.
Eze was set to miss the match with Man United last weekend but managed to get through training on the Friday and was in the squad on the Sunday.
It was his free kick which Maxence Lacroix headed onto the crossbar before Jean-Phillipe Mateta rebounded home. Although he had no direct involvement in the goals during that win, Eze's introduction from the bench really pushed Palace on to win the game.
Who replaces him for the trip to Doncaster is to be seen but there are a host of players who will be itching at the chance.
None other than Romaine Esse who arrived from Millwall during the January transfer window. While Esse is a different profile of forward to Eze he offers something that Palace don't have in abundance which is pace in attacking areas and he has the ability to cause Doncaster all sorts of problems.
It will be the 19-year-olds first start since his move after coming off the bench in the defeat to Brentford last month where Esse scored with his first touch of the ball.
Should Esse be given the chance from the start it will be a great opportunity to impress his new teammates, fans and most importantly manager.
