With no European football to distract them, City know the competition offers a perfect opportunity to end a trophy drought that stretches back to 1976.
So even the likes of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor might find themselves involved in a competition they normally pass on, although Carlos Tevez was part of the Manchester United side that won the competition last March.
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni may not be risked.
Speroni missed Saturday's 2-0 Championship home defeat by Newcastle on doctor's advice after taking a whack to the throat against Ipswich in midweek.
The Argentine, Palace's player of the year last season, should be fit but boss Neil Warnock may hold him back for league duty, meaning Darryl Flahavan could face City's all-star strikeforce.
Palace are still without Stern John, who suffered a nasty elbow injury half an hour into his debut, and fellow striker Calvin Andrew is sidelined with a knee problem.
Winger Ryan Smith might figure after being offered a short-term deal while Nick Carle, Sean Scannell, Nathanial Clyne and Victor Moses could start if Warnock opts to make changes.
Manchester City (from): Given, Zabaleta, Dunne, Toure, Ben Haim, Onuoha, Bridge, De Jong, Barry, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Weiss, Robinho, Adebayor, Bellamy, Tevez, Richards, Garrido, Etuhu, Vidal, McGivern, Petrov, Benjani, Taylor.
Sporting Life