FA Cup Draw: Liverpool Could Visit Crystal Palace In Fifth Round

Liverpool must return to the scene of its twin low points of 2014 if wants to hit one of its main targets for 2015.

England’s Football Association conducted the draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday, and the governing body pulled Liverpool (or Bolton Wanderers) against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The game will be played on the weekend of Feb. 14-15. The winner of that game will advance to the quarterfinal of world soccer’s oldest competition.

Liverpool twice suffered setbacks at Selhurst Park last year. Liverpool’s 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace in May effectively crushed its hopes of winning the 2013-14 Premier League title. Liverpool returned to South London in November and suffered a 2-1 loss, which marked the depth of despair in the Reds’ current league campaign.

Winning either the FA Cup, the Capital One Cup (Football League Cup) or both is one of Liverpool’s primary goals for 2014-15. The Reds simultaneously can take a step toward success and exorcise the ghosts of 2014 with a win over Crystal Palace next month.

Liverpool first must beat Bolton next week in a replay of their fourth-round game, which ended in a goal-less draw Saturday, in order to book its place in the fifth round and a trip to Selhurst Park.