Crystal Palace boss Vieira issues Chelsea warning

LONDON (Agencies): Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has urged his side to focus on their own game rather than read too much into Chelsea’s problems ahead of Sunday’s clash at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues were beaten 2-1 by Fulham on Thursday in another all-London clash and now lead Palace by just three points in the Premier League table, having played one game more than the Eagles.

Chelsea are 10th, an unusually low position in recent seasons, with a dismal run of just one win from their past eight games in all competitions piling the pressure on manager Graham Potter.

Palace have problems of their own following successive defeats, their latest loss coming in the FA Cup at the hands of top-flight rivals Southampton.

“The mood has been challenging, of course, because of the results that we have had, but I have seen a group who have been working well this week and waiting for the game to perform the best that we can,” Vieira said on Friday.

“We are looking at the squad that they (Chelsea) have and we are looking at the quality of the players that they have, we are looking at the quality of the manager that they have.”

The former Arsenal and France star added: “At the moment, yes, they (Chelsea) may be in a difficult period, because things are going against them, but that doesn’t take away the quality that they have.

“We, again, have to perform well, and not think at all about the run of games they are having at the moment.

“We want to focus on ourselves. We want to improve regarding the last games that we played. We want to be more competitive, and more consistent in our performances, to allow ourselves to win games.”