Pearson Preparing For Tough Palace Test

With defenders Matthew Upson and Zoumana Bakayogo the only names on the injury list, Pearson has a host of players all vying for a place in his matchday squad – but competition is as fierce as ever on the back of a 5-3 win over Manchester United last Sunday.
That win moved the Foxes into the top half of the table with eight points from five games, but in front of them stands a Palace outfit coming off the back of an impressive 3-2 win away at Everton.
“I don’t see it as being a headache,” said Pearson of his team selection. “It’s good situation to be in in that we’ve got a team that played well in the last game.
“We’ve been able to pick different sides for different games so far.We have the option to do it again this week, especially formation-wise.The game against Palace represents a tough obstacle for us, because they can generate some real momentum at home with a really positive atmosphere.
“We’ve got to get it right on the day but ultimately the players have set a level of performance that they will have to work very hard to maintain and that’s what will be expected of them.”

After an 11th place finish last season with Tony Pulis in charge, Palace seem to have settled well into life under returning manager Neil Warnock, and Pearson is under no illusions about how hard it will be.
He said: “Neil knows the club very well. He’s been there before and he always gets the best out of his teams. He’ll know what we’re about and I’m sure he’s got a tough game plan prepared for us, but we’ve got to make sure that our own level of performance is right first and foremost.
“It’ll be a tough game. I think they’ll ask lots of questions of us in terms of our ability to be resilient, but they’ve got some good players as well.”
City’s weekend display against United sent shock waves through the league and will go down as one of the great Premier League comebacks, but the manager is confident that his players will have their mind on the task in hand come kick-off on Saturday.
“It’s been business as usual in terms of getting the training right and making sure our preparation is right for the next game,” said Pearson. “The danger when you play a game like last Sunday is that people can get carried away if they’re not careful.
“I don’t want to underplay the performance and the result but we have got to get back to our preparation now for what’s going to be a tough game for us.”