Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira may continue to experiment for the weekend clash with Chelsea.
Vieira has experimented with a five-man defence against Liverpool and Manchester City this season, and although this has been away from home it offers him the tactical flexibility to deploy the same approach against Chelsea.
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The Newcastle meeting also saw a Jordan Ayew played in the centre of midfield for a spell – and Vieira was impressed.
“Jordan played that role when we went on tour so knows the responsibility of the position, and that gives me good options,” he said.
“There’s an option on the table to play him there. He was fantastic when he played there, is an intelligent player and is prepared to sacrifice himself for the team. When he went centrally that gave us really good balance.”
