'Vieira’s Work On The Training Field Is Improving Palace'
- Leicester City host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday (2pm kick-off)
- Football London journalist Mark Wyatt previews the game from an Eagles perspective
- Patrick Vieira has had an incredibly positive impact on the south London side, Wyatt says
- Fans can tune into live coverage of the clash on LCFC.com and @LCFC social media
The former AC Milan, Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan and Manchester City midfielder – a three-time Premier League winner with the Gunners – arrived at Selhurst Park following the conclusion of Roy Hodgson's tenure in south London. Despite pessimism from some, it's been a successful appointment.
Palace, unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions, are ninth in the Premier League and into the semi-finals of the Emirates FA Cup. Their 3-0 triumph over Arsenal on Monday, meanwhile, added to a collection of memorable victories under Vieira's guidance.
Leicester City welcome Vieira's men to King Power Stadium on Sunday (2pm kick-off).
"It’s been amazing," Wyatt, a close follower of Palace's fortunes, told LCFC Radio's Matchday Live show. "2022 couldn’t have really got off to a more tricky start with games against West Ham and Liverpool and Palace lost those, but since then, they’ve been energised. They’ve really come into themselves.
"Patrick Vieira’s work on the training field is really starting to come off and you can see that now with not only the attacking displays but also that defence as well. Recently they’ve had a home draw with Manchester City, a 3-0 win against Arsenal and a 4-0 win over Everton in the FA Cup.
"They’re some fantastic performances which Palace are stringing together and it’s coming at the right time as well. Most people were very apprehensive about what Patrick Vieira would bring. He was untested in a managerial sense in the Premier League.
"He’d had stints in America and France before that, so there was not too much to go off. The thing I think a lot of Palace fans were happy with was the direction the club was headed in. This wasn’t a huge upheaval at the club, Roy Hodgson didn’t leave under a cloud of darkness or anything.
"It was a fairly natural progression, although the club did interview quite a lot of people. Vieira soon came to the fore and it was a wise choice to appoint him as well because he aligns so well with the club and what they’re trying to accomplish.
"I know Vieira was a lot of people’s favourite to get the chop early on, but he’s proved a lot of people wrong and so much so that he’s getting Palace to play attractive football. They’re getting results which, in the past, would have been the best result of five years, but this year, we’ve had three or four results which will last long in the memories of Crystal Palace fans."
Wyatt also picked out the key threats for the Foxes on Sunday: "Joachim Andersen has been a massive player. He’s been an absolute colossus. The guys who got called up for England too - Marc Guéhi, Tyrick Mitchell and of course Conor Gallagher. Obviously Wilfried Zaha up front as well.
"Jean-Philippe Mateta, who was a player on the periphery for the first half of the season, has been rewarded with a new contract in January and has since gone on a really good goalscoring run. He’s got four goals in his last seven or eight games now.
"He’s really started to hit the form which was expected of him when he signed from Mainz. It’s players playing well all over the pitch, which is exactly what you want at this stage of the season."
All times BST.