IN-FORM Crystal Palace are the visitors to the Vic this weekend - and with only three league games remaining, both sides need to take points from the encounter to continue their respective promotion pushes.

The south Londoners come to Vicarage Road unbeaten in nine games and currently occupy the final play off spot.

Last time out the Golden Boys picked themselves up off the ground after the disappointing loss at home to Barnsley when they gained a point in the Midlands against West Brom last Saturday evening.

The 'Orns need no more disasters at home and they'll be tested to the limit by Neil Warnock's Eagles.

Aidy Boothroyd will come up against the ex-Blade for the seventh time on Saturday afternoon. He said: "I don't have a problem with him at all. He's certainly outspoken. He says what's on his mind and because of that he gets upset and he upsets people.

"He plays within the rules, I've never had a problem with him and I'm sure it will be a tough competition and it will be a good match for everybody."

The clash is a contrast to the affair at Selhurst Park earlier in the season. The 'Orns were top of the pile, while Warnock was still trying to shake his team up and make an impact with his side entrenched in the relegation zone.

Now just one place separates the teams, so what kind of game does the Watford boss expect? 

"I think they will come here and flood the midfield. I expect them to try and get us on counter attacks with Moses and Sinclair and Scannell if he plays or Reid.

"I expect them to try and slow the game down. I also expect them to try and get into the officials, Mr Warnock especially. I expect them to come here thinking they can get something out of the game.

"Therefore the onus is on us to break them down. The onus is on us to not to deal with those distractions that get presented and to keep the game at a decent tempo. Most of all, the onus is for us to keep the ball out of our net and stick it in theirs."

On the injury front Boothroyd has confirmed that it looks unlikely that Damien Francis will feature again this campaign due to his continuing knee problems. Despite Gareth Williams featuring for the reserves - the Hornets don't want to rush the Scotsman and his target will be the start of next season.

There are no new injury worries for the home team, the biggest dilemma for the boss will be juggling the strikers at his disposal. However the manager indicated he was happy with the Tamas Priskin - Darius Henderson partnership.

The Golden Boys have pressing issues of their own too, with the teams above them still within touching distance, but as every game passes that gap is of course getting harder to close.

Boothroyd hasn't given up hope of an automatic promotion and judging by the league so far he is expecting a few more curve balls to be thrown.

"There have been some absolutely unbelievable results. We need to start making sure we're being a little bit more consistent and when that vidiprinter comes up on a Saturday night, our result is always a good one.

"I think it's still within our reach and I won't stop thinking that until it's mathematically impossible.

"We've got the opportunity to get results, nine points are up for grabs and all the other teams have got the opportunity to win or lose nine points, so therefore we've got a bit of catching up to do. I think we've got a good chance of doing it."

A return to Vicarage Road and a large crowd should make for a cracking atmosphere on Saturday. The manager believes that the supporters this season have shown their best side when things have been going against his men on the pitch, when the chips have been down for the Hornets.

He added: "The bottom line is fans respond to winning, fans respond to running, fans respond to adversity, and our fans have been terrific when we've had ten men.

"Against Stoke they were terrific and we should of won that game as well.  We missed a penalty of course so it's not just about talk, you can't underestimate what your fans can give to you and at the same time you have to feed them.

"If we feed the sort of rubbish we gave them on Wednesday night then they're not going to be happy. If I'm not happy, they're not going to be happy.

"We have to make sure come the end of the season, those sorts of results are distant memories and everyone's got a smile on their faces."

Patience could well be a key in these remaining games, not just on the pitch and on the bench - but in the stands too.

Boothroyd had a plan prior to West Brom and his side stuck to it.

"We all notice as managers when you can get to the crowd and you could sense it at West Brom on Saturday. We were getting to them. We were upsetting their bench, we were stifling them and their crowd was starting to get annoyed at one or two of their players.

"As a manager what you do is you target players that you think you can get at and the crowd are on to.

"For example, we knew that Dean Kiely was having a bit of bad time from their fans so we thought if we could put him under a bit of pressure then we might get something out of that and turn their own crowd on themselves.

"They got the early goal in the second half and I'm convinced if we had held out we would have won that games because the crowd would have turned on them and it's a different sort of atmosphere."

The opposition will have done their homework on the 'Orns and know that things went horribly wrong against the Tykes and they'll try to exploit that. The club and supporters need to be one on Saturday as Boothroyd explained.

"Neil Warnock will come here with exactly that plan. He will know we didn't play very well against Barnsley and he will try and turn our fans against us.

"That then is a question mark for the supporters, whether they will allow that to happen or whether they will get behind us.

"I believe they will get behind us because despite the form at home they know deep down that we're actually a good side and they know that we're going to give it our all to get over this finishing line.

"They also know deep down if they have got anything to say the best time to do it is at the end when it's all done. I'm confident having said all of that that we'll have smiling faces at the end of Saturday's game."             

Saturday's other fixtures:
Norwich v West Brom
Sheffield United v Hull
Stoke v Bristol City
Wolves v Ipswich
 

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