Opposition View: Crystal Palace

- Sam Allardyce previews Saturday's encounter between Crystal Palace and Leicester City

Sam Allardyce hopes Crystal Palace can continue to ride the wave of optimism created by victories over Chelsea and Arsenal when . 

After Allardyce took charge in December, the Eagles have won six of their last nine fixtures to propel them from a precarious position in the Premier League’s relegation zone to 16th place – six points clear of danger – with just seven matches of the 2016/17 campaign remaining. 

The Palace boss says his side expect a tough afternoon against the Foxes this weekend following their exploits in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night. Evaluating the London outfit’s recent revival in fortunes on Friday morning, Allardyce insisted they are taking nothing for granted. 

He said: “We have just had our biggest period we've had this season so far with victories against Chelsea and Arsenal but obviously in the middle of that we lost to Southampton so we need to make sure we don’t let that happen this weekend against Leicester City.

“We need to focus on the game this weekend and make sure we don’t get wrapped up in all the talk of us being safe, because we are not. The aim will be to try and secure another three points but we are playing a team in exceptionally good form like ourselves and this will be just as difficult a game as we faced against Arsenal on Monday night, if not more.” 

Looking more closely at Leicester, Allardyce added: “They were tactically brilliant against Atlético Madrid and only lost to a penalty. They showed they are difficult to beat, we need to be patient and show our quality. They are reigning champions of the Premier League and in the Quarter-Final of the Champions League so we know the size of the task we are up against. 

“We have seven games left and must make sure that getting safe is our first target but, even though we have won six matches of the last nine, we are still not there yet and we mustn’t lose our focus.”