Patrick Vieira has provided a fresh injury update on his Crystal Palace squad ahead of their trip to Manchester City this weekend.
The Eagles picked up their first Premier League win of the season last Saturday as they saw off Aston Villa 3-1 at Selhurst Park, but now face a difficult test at the home of the defending champions on Saturday.
And they’ll be heading to the Etihad with at least three first-team players as Vieira confirmed at his press conference that midfielder James McArthur and James Tomkins will join fellow defender Nathan Ferguson on the sidelines.
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Reports also emerged on Friday afternoon, via the Athletic, that talisman Wilfried Zaha is also set to miss the trip to City with a knock picked up during last weekend's win against Villa.
The injury, which is described as not being serious, means Palace's top goalscorer for the season will not feature against the champions.
The Frenchman will have the rest of his squad available including new signing Chris Richards, who played 90 minutes on Tuesday night as Palace beat Oxford United 2-0 in the Carabao Cup.
Further reinforcements in the remaining days of the transfer window wouldn’t go a miss for Vieira though, who would like to add more competition for places within his squad.
"We are a little bit light,” he told reporters on Friday. “We need more numbers, more players, hopefully we will have a couple of players before the end of the window but we need to find them.
“If we don’t then I’m really pleased with the squad we have, players are committed and working hard."
Vieira has a good record against City as a manager, with Palace being the only side to stop Pep Guardiola's side from scoring in the Premier League last season when they held them to a goalless draw at Selhurst in March.
The Eagles went one better at the Etihad earlier in the season too, winning 2-0 in Manchester courtesy of goals from Conor Gallagher and Wilfried Zaha.
“We have nothing to lose,” added Vieira when asked about the significance of last season’s result on Sunday’s game.
“We will go there with the same kind of mindset, prepare to suffer and get ready for those chances we create and we will have to take them.
“[Last season’s result] is a positive memory but the game is gone and we need to have this kind of performance again.
“The challenge is ‘can we repeat this kind of performance?’. There’s no doubt about the quality individually and collectively. This is one of the best teams in the world, the result will be down to how well can we play together.”
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