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Oscar Haley

Leeds United's Jesse Marsch and Crystal Palace's Patrick Vieira set to renew MLS rivalry

Leeds United's Jesse Marsch and Crystal Palace's Patrick Vieira look set to renew a rivalry from their MLS management days when they face off against each other this weekend at Selhurst Park.

The rivalry between the two now Premier League managers hails back to 2016. Back then, Marsch was in charge of New York Red Bulls while Vieira was managing rivals New York City FC.

Red Bulls ran rampant against City in their first clash of the 2016 season, besting Vieira's side 7-0. The following encounter, at the start of July, saw City get their revenge upon Marsch and Red Bulls with a 2-0 win.

READ MORE: Leeds United news as Jesse Marsch again criticised for 'rich' time-wasting complaints

City's 2-0 win over Red Bulls saw David Villa and current Leeds winger Jack Harrison score for Vieira's side to set-up an exciting third Hudson River Derby of the season at the end of the month.

Marsch and Red Bulls again dismantled Vieira's City side, winning 4-1. But it was what Vieira said after the game that incited a feud between the two, with the former Arsenal midfielder claiming Marsch tried to influence the decisions of the referee before the match.

"I think today [referee Mark Geiger] made more decisions in favour of the Red Bulls because the manager has been crying all the week," Vieira said following the 4-1 defeat.

"At the end, [Marsch] got what he wanted. It didn't just happen like that. This is a plan, this is a way I think [Marsch] wanted to go for. He got fined for it, which means he did something wrong.

"You can accept it or not, but that had an impact on the referee's decisions. It's as simple as that."

So incensed was Vieira, he refused to shake Marsch's hand after the game.

"He didn't want to shake my hand in the hallway," Marsch said.

"But I've seen this from him after the game before. It's not a problem. I'm going to focus on us."

Given that the Hudson River Derby only began in 2015, it seemed almost astonishing the levels of vitriol Marsch and Vieira were aiming at each other.

While the two have seen their stock rise exponentially since their time in the MLS, nowadays, not much has changed either. Fast forward seven years on from their 2016 encounters and Marsch and Vieira are still very proactive on the touchline.

As Leeds fans will know, Marsch is not one to sit still in the dugout. The Whites boss tells officials know just how he feels, evidenced by his sending off against Brentford at the start of September.

Last term, the two shared an embrace on the touchline when Palace and Leeds played out a 0-0 draw in April.

And while you would expect the two former New York bosses to keep their cool on the touchline this time around, who's to say they won't both see red on Sunday afternoon again.

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