Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has told his side how they can cope with Selhurst Park’s famous atmosphere when they travel to Crystal Palace on Monday night in the Premier League.
The Whites are currently on a four-game unbeaten streak and head to south London hoping to steer themselves further clear of the relegation zone. Marsch’s side are 16th in the table and five points clear of Burnley in 18th. Palace, meanwhile, have lost their last three matches, including suffering defeat to Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Leeds won the reverse fixture at a raucous Elland Road in November courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty from Raphinha, though Palace did waste several good chances to take the lead themselves during the 90 minutes. Nevertheless, Marsch says he’s eyeing up a good result when he takes his side to south London on Monday night.
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Selhurst Park has been a happy hunting ground for the Eagles so far this season, with Patrick Vieira overseeing 3-0 wins over Spurs and Arsenal as well as holding defending Premier League champions Manchester City to a goalless draw in March.
“Crystal Palace is a team we have a lot of respect for, they made it to the FA Cup semi-final and have had an incredible season,” Marsch told reporters in his pre-match press conference on Friday. "They have a lot of quality players who are dangerous in one versus one situations and in transition moments and they have a really good coach.
“Palace is a tough place to play at, so it will be a big challenge for us and requires entire concentration and focus on the task in hand. You can see there are twists and turns every night, the only thing for us to do is focus on ourselves and we have a performance that gives us the chance to get three points.”
Leeds will arrive at Selhurst Park completely refreshed after having 16 days off since their last match – a 3-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road on April 9. Marsch admitted having so much time off during the season had its positives as well as its drawbacks though, with the American coach calling on his players to ensure their focus levels remain high for the final six games of the season.
“The season always has ebbs and flows and you could argue that it would have been nice to keep playing,” he added. “But it was also nice to have a bit of a break to get our squad healthier and we are ready. We know there is a lot of work to be done yet and the focus on the last two weeks has been about preparing ourselves entirely to be ready for the next challenges.”
