- Tottenham Hotspur welcome Crystal Palace in a Boxing Day London derby
- The match sees Patrick Vieira take to the away dugout towards an previous adversary
- Vieira is aware of there will likely be a heated reception for him as a former Arsenal captain
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira is braced for boos from the Tottenham followers when his aspect go to their fellow London membership on Boxing Day.
The Eagles are set to make the quick journey throughout the capital this weekend to face Spurs and the 45-year-old is aware of the kind of reception he's more likely to obtain.
Vieira spent 9 years as a participant at Arsenal and captained them to Premier League success on the dwelling of arch-rivals Tottenham in 2004.
'I'm anticipating extra than simply a few boos,' the Gunners nice mentioned with a smile.
'Tottenham is a extremely troublesome place to go, the environment, the gamers' power once they play at dwelling, it's actually good.
'We all know what to anticipate so what's essential for us is to play with braveness, to play with confidence and perception to provide ourselves the perfect probability to get the end result. We all know it is going to be troublesome however we will make it as effectively troublesome for them.'
Spurs misplaced 3-0 at Selhurst Park in September however have since changed Nuno Espirito Santo with Antonio Conte.
The Italian has turned Tottenham into a distinct proposition and their distance lined per sport has markedly improved.
Vieira added: 'It is a staff who performs with a variety of power. Whenever you have a look at their entrance gamers, it's not simply concerning the working they're doing however it's concerning the depth they're taking part in the sport.
'It's about how good they're to create probabilities and rating objectives. Sure, we anticipate a troublesome problem however we will likely be at our greatest. We are going to work laborious and be able to compete.'
Palace supervisor Vieira can be ready to see a greater model of Harry Kane although the England captain has solely scored twice within the Premier League this season.
The Spurs ahead endured a day to neglect in south London, however his stage of efficiency has raised since Conte arrived.
'We did our homework within the final couple video games he performed for Spurs,' Vieira mentioned of Kane.
'I feel he's getting again to his finest and he will likely be a distinct participant this time.'
James McArthur (hamstring) will likely be absent for Palace, who're set to lose three gamers to the African Cup of Nations in January.
Cheikhou Kouyate will hyperlink up with hosts Senegal whereas Wilfried Zaha has been included within the Ivory Coast squad and Jordan Ayew is within the Ghana travelling occasion.
Dakar-born Vieira, who represented France at worldwide stage, has no drawback shedding the trio for probably an entire month and referred to as for extra protection of the event.
'If there was extra protection of that competitors, folks would perceive how essential it's for the African continent,' he insisted.
'I respect and perceive the fervour and significance of these gamers going to symbolize their nation and nation.
'I'll by no means cease any participant going to play the African Cup of Nations. I imagine that competitors needs to be extra revered as a result of this competitors is as essential because the European Championship.'
