Palace to take strong squad to Exeter City for cup clash (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Lack of players forces Freedman's hand in Capital One Cup

1:01pm Tuesday 14th August 2012 in Crystal Palace By Tim Ashton

Dougie Freedman says tonight’s team in the first round of the Capital One Cup will “pick itself”.

Crystal Palace make the long trip to Exeter City tonight ahead of the Championship opener against Watford at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

However, despite the long journey and the fast-approaching season, Freedman’s limited resources mean he cannot pick and choose his teams.

“Tonight’s team will pick itself. Some clubs can rotate their players but that is not true at this club,” he said. “This year we will have a small squad and of the players that play tonight, everyone will probably start against Watford.”

He added: “We had some young players come through last year and I did use the cup to blood them in. But all of a sudden you’ll find that these are the players who will be in the team.”

Freedman is without Jonathan Williams (calf strain) while Mile Jedinak and Jonathan Parr have international commitments for Australia and Norway respectively.