Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard will renew his Premier League rivalry with Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira this weekend.
The two retired midfielders were involved in a number of memorable contests during their time as players at Liverpool and Arsenal respectively.
Gerrard will now meet Vieira as a manager for the first time when his Villa side travel to London in search of back-to-back wins after victory over Brighton.
But they face a tough test taking on Palace who are on a run of seven Premier League games without defeat going back to September.
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa: live commentary
This Premier League clash will take place on Saturday, November 27 at Selhurst Park with a UK kick-off time of 3pm.
The game will be live and exclusive on talkSPORT 2 with coverage starting at 2:30pm and Dan Windle will be on presenting duties.
Commentary will then come from Ian Danter and former England defender Alvin Martin.
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Crystal Palace v Aston Villa: Team news
The hosts will once again be without James McArthur due to a hamstring injury while Nathan Ferguson remains a doubt following a calf issue.
Vieira otherwise has a fully fit squad to choose from as he said: “Everybody trained this morning.
“Eze had a really good week, full session with the team. Nathan took part in some training this week so everybody outside of Macca are fit for the game.”
Villa meanwhile have several long-term absentees with Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet still sidelined with thigh and knee injuries respectively.
Douglas Luiz is also unlikely to be rushed back into action after a recent hamstring strain.
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Crystal Palace v Aston Villa: What has been said?
Gerrard recalled his battles with Vieira as a player in his pre-match press conference.
The Villa boss said: “He’s a man I have a lot of admiration and respect for, first and foremost as a player.
“I had many battles against Patrick, some highs, some lows. He was certainly a player you could really go and compete against.
“You could kick him, fight him, compete against him and he’d shake your hand after the game.
“He was a top, top footballer and one of the toughest battles I ever faced in terms of being a player, and I expect the same to be the case from the side. I know he’s a winner.”
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa: Match facts
- Crystal Palace have won five of their last six home league games against Aston Villa (L1), including each of the last three in a row.
- Aston Villa have won three of their last five Premier League games against Crystal Palace (L2), as many as they had in their first 13 against them in the competition.
- When scoring at least once in Premier League games against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace’s record is P11 W7 D3 L1, winning the last six such games. However, the Eagles have failed to score in five of their last eight against the Villans in the competition.
- Crystal Palace are unbeaten at home in the Premier League so far this season (W2 D4). They last avoided defeat in their first seven home games of a league campaign in 1993-94 (second tier), while they last did so in the top-flight in 1990-91.
- Crystal Palace are without defeat in their last seven Premier League games (W2 D5), the longest current unbeaten run in the competition. The Eagles themselves last had a longer unbeaten run in the competition in December 2017 (8 games).
- Aston Villa got off to a winning start under Steven Gerrard against Brighton last time out – the only manager to win both of his first two Premier League games in charge of the Villans was John Gregory in March 1998.
- Aston Villa have lost their last three Premier League away games, last losing more in a row on the road in the competition between February 2016 and September 2019 (10).
- Christian Benteke’s last eight Premier League goals have either put Crystal Palace ahead (4) or been an equalising goal (4). Indeed, 71% of his overall Premier League goals have altered the result at that point in the match (61/86) – among players to score at least 60 Premier League goals, only Dion Dublin (72%) has scored a higher share of this type.
- Against no side has Aston Villa striker Danny Ings scored more Premier League goals than he has against Crystal Palace (5). However, after scoring (2) or assisting (2) four goals in his first five league appearances for the Villans, Ings has netted just once more (0 assists) in his last five games.
- As players, Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira and Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard met nine times in the Premier League. Gerrard didn’t lose any of the first six such meetings (W3 D3), with Vieira winning two of the last three (L1).
