The derby that 'defines which side is first in south London'

Crystal Palace are undefeated in their past six meetings with Millwall

When the draw for the Carabao Cup third round was made, all eyes were on who would face League Two Grimsby Town after their famous shootout win over Manchester United.

As well as the Mariners' trip across Yorkshire to face Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, another tie caught the attention.

On Tuesday (20:00 BST), Millwall will make the six-mile journey to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in a south London derby for the latest instalment in a long and heated rivalry.

Palace's prolonged stay in the Premier League has meant there have been only two meetings between the sides in the past decade.

But it is one that carries great significance for both sets of fans, says Eagles fan and podcaster Alex Pewter.

"I'd argue that Millwall is Crystal Palace's only true London derby," the FYP podcast host said.

"To other teams in London, Palace aren't even secondary in their thoughts - perhaps they even are behind West Ham for Millwall. But this is the match to define which team is first in south London."

Lions return to scene of match marred by tackle

Millwall's goalkeeper Liam Roberts was sent off for a head-height challenge on Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta when the two sides last met in March

The most recent meeting between these sides was remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts was sent off after eight minutes for a head-height challenge on Jean-Philippe Mateta that left the Palace striker requiring 25 stitches.

Eagles chairman Steve Parish called the tackle "the most reckless challenge on a football field" he had ever seen when speaking to BBC One at half-time of the FA Cup fifth-round match in March.

The Premier League side went on to win the game 3-1, ticking off the third step on their way to an historic first FA Cup win.

Roberts' automatic three-match ban was extended to six games and Millwall put out a statement in defence of their player after he received online abuse despite Mateta publicly accepting his apology.

The Lions were also subsequently fined £15,000 for homophobic chants aimed at Ben Chilwell, who was playing in the Palace team while on loan from Chelsea.

It was Roberts' final appearance for Millwall and he joined Mansfield Town in the summer.

"Roberts' challenge was very ill-judged, but there was no intent," says Achtung! Millwall podcast host Nick Hart.

"The whole media, FA and Palace furore came down hard on a decent player, who went out of his way to make amends to Mateta.

"And fair play to JP Mateta, he accepted Roberts' apology as being 'football'. No malice.

"It is no coincidence that Liam felt obliged to leave Millwall in the wake of his personal and familial online haranguing."

Hart added: "I think the travelling Lions fans will be reminding Parish of all of these points on Tuesday."

'Something hasn't clicked between Glasner and Esse'

Former Millwall player Romain Esse has only made one appearance for Crystal Palace this season

One player who would love to get some minutes for the hosts is former Millwall attacker Romain Esse, who moved to the Eagles in January.

It's been a tough start for the 20-year-old, who has made only 10 appearances for his new club despite scoring on his debut against Brentford.

He scored seven goals in 66 games for the Lions but has played just once for Palace so far this season and Pewter does not see much changing this week.

"Recent history suggests he is unlikely to play, having started only a single match since joining," he said. "It has been difficult to form an opinion about Esse.

"In that lone start against Wolves he was impressive, getting an assist. In the following game, he suffered the ignominy of being subbed on and off again within 10 minutes.

"Clearly, something hasn't clicked with Oliver Glasner."

'Palace will want to retain bragging rights'

Palace went on to win the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history after beating Millwall in the third round last season

Palace have enjoyed the better of the results in recent times, undefeated in the past six meetings dating back to Millwall's 3-0 Championship win at The Den in January 2011.

But before beating the Lions in their own back yard in December of that year, the Eagles had gone eight games without claiming a win dating back to December 2002.

"After a long gap between matches, this is now the third meeting in under four years, across both cup competitions," Pewter said.

"Perhaps it isn't the ideal opponent as there are more stakes than you would usually want in an early cup round.

"Regardless of what happened in the last match, Palace will want to retain the bragging rights, but hopefully in a business-like manner."

Because of their involvement in the Uefa Conference League, the Eagles have entered the EFL Cup in the third round this season.

Millwall began their cup campaign with a 1-0 win away at Newport County in the first round before beating Coventry 2-1 in the second round at The Den.