Pardew anticipating difficult Palace clash

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew believes his side will face a difficult clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Pardew’s men travel to Selhurst Park sitting sixth in the Premier League, having lost just one of their last seven games.

However, Palace have undergone a revival under new boss Tony Pulis and are a mere point adrift of safety.

Former Palace player Pardew is expecting a tough game against the club he helped reach the FA Cup final in 1990.

“Tony plays a brand of football that’s tough to play against – physical, demanding and, at times, direct,” he said.

“You need to be able to stand up and be counted in that manner.

“All his teams have tested better teams than us on that level and won. But, for us, it’s about how we are playing, and we are playing really well at the minute.

“We need to bring that to Selhurst Park and if we can do that, then they won’t get it all their own way and hopefully we can get three points.”