Patrick Vieira insists he understands the importance of Crystal Palace’s rivalry with Brighton ahead of “welcoming” the Seagulls to Selhurst Park.
Despite their home grounds being 46 miles apart, Palace and Brighton have been bitter rivals since the 1970s.
Brighton head into the 110th meeting between the teams on the back of a stronger run of form. Roberto De Zerbi’s side have won five of their six matches so far in 2023, including two statement victories over Jurgen Klopp’s struggling Liverpool.
Palace, meanwhile, are winless in six — with their mid-table position of 12th thanks largely to a few decisive victories in the autumn, before the season paused for the World Cup in Qatar.
Speaking on Friday afternoon, Vieira said: “We all know — the staff, the players — about how important this game is. It is the passion from both fans, it’s the rivalry between those two football clubs since years [and] years.
“We have quality, we have confidence, we have belief, and it will be important for us to perform tomorrow. We are not low on confidence.”
Asked for his thoughts on Palace’s form, the Frenchman replied: “OK, but we have lacked consistency.”
Vieira confirmed the long-awaited return of former Scotland international James McArthur. The midfielder, 35, is yet to feature at all for Palace this season due to a long-term hip injury he sustained last summer.
Palace’s manager said: “Macca is in a really good place. He will be a part of the squad for tomorrow. He has been working hard. In every single training session with the team, he was feeling better. Physically, he is in a really good place.”
McArthur has been an Eagles player since September 2014 when he signed from Wigan Athletic. In the eight-and-a-half years since, he has amassed 249 appearances for the London club.
Vieira also confirmed that Nathan Ferguson is back in training. The versatile defender has only featured once for Palace since signing from West Brom in 2020.
Viera said: “The good news is that we have had Nathan training with the team for the past couple of weeks with no setbacks.”
