Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce has claimed that Crystal Palace might not be fully motivated when they face the Black Cats' North-East and relegation rivals Newcastle United on Saturday.
Although Palace are not yet mathematically safe, they are eight points clear of the drop zone and on a high after beating Watford on Sunday to reach the FA Cup final.
Allardyce believes that Alan Pardew's side will have celebrated the Wembley win and that it could affect their performance this weekend.
"They won't be mentally ready for it and neither will Alan, because he'll be thinking about the final now, not thinking about Newcastle away," The Telegraph quotes Allardyce as saying.
"You're not going to stop the lads celebrating having got through to a final, particularly Crystal Palace, because it's such a good achievement for the club, the fans, Alan and the owner, there is such euphoria around the place.
"It may well serve in reverse. He could say, 'Off you go lads, go and play today and relax, the result doesn't matter as much' and they might win, but it could go the other way. 'Ooh, I've had a good couple of days off and I don't want to get injured for the final, I might just stay out of that tackle'. Who knows? I suspect it might be the latter."
Sunderland are one point above Newcastle in the race to beat the drop and have a game in hand on the Magpies.
Pascal Lemesre
