Patrick Vieira claims his side won't be feeling tiredness heading into the FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea. The Eagles will take on Thomas Tuchel's side at the home of English football before travelling to Newcastle United on Wednesday night.
Leeds United in comparison, have an extended break in their football calendar, and do not have a game until they take on Palace on Monday, 25 April. The 16 day break will give Jesse Marsch an extended period on the training ground with his side, an advantage the Whites should look to exploit.
Marsch has done a remarkable job at transforming the Whites' fortunes and while there may be a way to go until they're the finished article, they've been able to grind out results. Leeds are currently nine points above the drop zone, but know that could change by the time they play again.
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Palace themselves have been a different animal under Vieira's tutorage, but he may have revealed an avenue Leeds can exploit. Speaking ahead of Palace's FA Cup semi-final, Vieira told Football London: "You don’t feel the tiredness when you play a semi-final of an FA Cup. Those Chelsea players will be ready for it.
"We have to be ready for the fight and we will gave to look at how we want to approach the game, follow our game plan and perform on the day. But we can’t count on Chelsea to be tired because they will not be tired."
Whether Vieira want's to admit it, he'll know that Leeds will have an upper hand when it comes to resting up for the game. One silver lining for the Eagles, is they'll be without Conor Gallagher for the semi-final clash, but know he'll come straight back into the side to face Newcastle on Wednesday, and, injury permitting, will play against Leeds.
