As is so often the case these days, the victor may be the manager who 'shuffles their pack' with the least vigour. In that respect, Ronald Koeman has resisted the urge to tinker too much in cup fixtures and is seemingly genuine when he says that he takes the games very seriously.
Palace, on the other hand, may have one eye on keeping their league form on track, given their resurgence under former Saints boss Alan Pardew it may be that they see this game of secondary importance.
If one thing is certain, Pardew will not want to be on the end of another hiding, having seen his Newcastle team go down to two consecutive 4-0 defeats on the south coast, perhaps his pride will see him name the strongest team possible.
It came as a massive bonus to the Saints fans that staggeringly, the Eagles declined the full 15 per cent allocation and the Northam choir will be in their rightful place.
Having had to move due to Ipswich's use of the 5,000 tickets, the Saints crowd lost its voice, and the flat atmosphere was suited to the on pitch performance.
The club should seriously look at where it houses large allocations of visiting fans in the future, the loss of atmosphere really felt like a hindrance.
A cynic might say that this is a no lose situation for Saints, victory sees them progress in a cup competition and defeat gives them the opportunity to see out their top four challenge unhindered by extra fixtures. I'm sure neither manager will want a replay and I've got the feeling this one could be a thriller.