Patrick Vieira drops Crystal Palace selection hint as Eagles go in search of first win

Crystal Palace will hope to build on the strong showing against Liverpool when they host Aston Villa at Selhurst this weekend.

The Eagles have had a difficult start to the season having already taken on Arsenal and Liverpool, and it doesn’t get easier with their next two games being Villa at home and then Champions Manchester City away.

They also have some key players out with injuries including experienced central midfielder James McArthur whom Vieira confirmed would not be involved this weekend.

He said: ”James Tomkins and James McArthur will not be part of the game and the same for Nathan (Ferguson).”

Last season Palace lost at home to Villa in what was only manager Steven Gerrard’s second game in charge, and the Eagles could only pick up a point in the second leg.

A defeat and a draw does not make for pleasant reading but when you factor in that they were games against Arsenal and Liverpool, then you see the progress made.

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira is aware that there are no easy games in the Premier League and wants his players to cut out the mistakes and build on their strength against Villa.

They deployed a five at the back system that was rarely used that last season against Liverpool at Anfield, with star man Wilfried Zaha leading the line.

Asked if it was something they would be considering against Aston Villa, he revealed it was more about having confidence to play the way they want rather than just systems.

He added: “Any formation you use is about the animation of the system and the players were brave enough to work hard and well.

“We had a couple of chances where we were able to go forward. We knew we were capable of going forward.

“Look at Ebs [Eze], Wilfried [Zaha] and Jordan [Ayew] – away from home you want to get on the ball more often.

“Going to Liverpool we know the challenge is to stay disciplined and we managed to, which allowed us to create chances and score.

“The game was positive and we took a lot of information from it. Now it’s about trying to repeat those performances and be consistent.”