Crystal Palace midfielder Jason Puncheon says his team-mates can realise a childhood dream if they beat Watford in the FA Cup semi-final.

The Eagles and the Hornets go head to head on Sunday with the victors facing either Manchester United or Everton in the showpiece finale next month.

Like his many fans, Puncheon admitted to playing out his favourite FA Cup as a youngster down the local park.

However, the 29-year-old Croydon-born star will walk out at Wembley knowing he is within touching distance of the real thing.

He said: “Some people can go through their career without winning anything, and we’ve got a great chance ahead of us.

“You dream of playing in FA Cups and finals and we’ve got a great chance of doing that.”

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The Eagles’ Premier League campaign in 2016 has run counter to their FA Cup run having won just once in 16 games.

That one win came courtesy of a Puncheon goal against Norwich earlier this month, and he was delighted to help the side end the barren run.

“It was important to win, however we did it, to stop the rot,” he said.

“Now we’ve got a great chance to achieve something really good and get into the final of the FA cup and who knows what can happen after that.”

Puncheon knows exactly what a win would mean for the Palace fans having experienced the atmosphere they created in the away stands at Tottenham last month.

Now he hopes to repay them with a famous win on Sunday.

“It was a great atmosphere to take it in and see how fans are at away games and I really enjoyed it,” he said.

“It’s massive [for the fans]. Everywhere I’ve been in this week building up to the semi-final, into a shop anywhere, everybody is talking about it so it’s great for the community.”

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