Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman will not rest players this Saturday ahead of the Carling Cup semi-final first leg next week.

The Eagles travel to Derby County in third round of the FA Cup but the eyes of most supporters will be turning to the home match with Cardiff City on Tuesday.

Victory in the first leg would set Palace up for the away fixture two weeks later, with a place in their first major cup final since 1990 at stake.

But despite the carrot on offer, Freedman is keeping his attention firmly on Derby and reaching the fourth round.

"When you are in the business I am in and competitive the way I am, you want to win every game," he said.

"I will be putting out a team I feel will beat Derby as it doesn't come into my thinking to go there and put out a weakened team.

"Then we will move on to the next cup game and I will do the same for that.

"I am not yet experienced enough to keep one eye on the next fixture, I am all for winning every game and that's what I will be trying to do."

Freedman will be hoping to have a fully fit squad to chose from after seeing his players hit by a virus over the new year programme.

Goalkeeper Julian Speroni missed both the 1-0 win at Millwall and the 2-1 home defeat to Leicester City because of the illness while captain Paddy McCarthy was also absent from the Leicester match.

"When you lose your goalkeeper, who is probably the best in the division, and you lose your captain, you start to get a little concerned," added Freedman.

"We have got the doctor on call to make sure everybody is taking all the legal vitamins they can to make sure it is not contagious.

"And I have given the lads a couple of days off and told them to stay away from each other, hopefully that will kill it."

Jermaine Easter scored Palace's winner at Millwall on Saturday before Jonathan Parr's goal was not enough to earn a point on Monday, in a game that saw 20-year-old Nathaniel Clyne, out of contract in June, handed the captain's armband.

"Nathaniel is a fantastic young man, he is a wonderful player who has got Crystal Palace in his blood," said Freedman.

"Whatever is happening and will happen with Nathaniel, I think he is a wonderful young man with a wonderful talent so I had no hesitation when I was wasn't starting Darren Ambrose to give him the captaincy.

"He is a leader on the pitch in the way he plays and I was pleased for him and he took the responsibility on his chest and did well with it."