Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has called on his side to be ready to deal with the 'difficult' Goodison Park atmosphere when they visit Everton on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles sit 11th in the Premier League table ahead of their trip to Merseyside and are unbeaten in their last three league outings. However, it's a different story for Everton who have suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur, failing to register a shot on target over the course of both games.
But despite the Toffees' recent struggles after a solid start to the season, Vieira acknowledged his side will be in for a tough afternoon.
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Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, he said: " A tough one. We know how difficult it is to go there because of the pressure and the atmosphere. We have to be prepared.
"If you look at the game we played last year we had a really good first half and the second half was not good enough. We have to be ready like the last couple of games we played, I think. We will have to be ready to compete and perform as best that we can."
Of course, it was against Saturday's opposition that Everton secured their Premier League status in the penultimate game of last season. Hovering above the relegation zone, Everton came from two goals down to secure a historic 3-2 victory against Vieira's side and subsequently retain their top-flight status after a troublesome season at Goodison Park.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the winner during that fixture back in May and he should be available for the Blues once again, after making his first start of the season against Newcastle on Wednesday evening.
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