Patrick Vieira revealed that he watched Amazon's documentary series 'When Eagles dare' to get more of an understanding of Palace's fierce rivalry with Brighton.
The five-part series was released on Amazon Prime on June 4, one month before Vieira was announced as the Eagles' new manager on July 4.
The documentary showed how the south Londoners went from on the verge of liquidation to the remarkable story of Crystal Palace's promotion to the Premier League in 2013 under manager Ian Holloway, which of course included a play-off semi-final victory over Brighton.
'I know what it means for the fans to win the game, I know the trouble our football club went through. I understand how passionate both fans are about the game' said Vieira.
'It was important for me to understand what the football club was about. This documentary really made me understand the club and the people'.
Vieira would have watched his star man Wilfred Zaha grab a crucial brace at the AMEX stadium which sent Crystal Palace to Wembley to face Watford in the Championship play-off final. He will need the Ivorian winger to be on similar form on Monday night.
The former Arsenal captain explained that former Palace player and current coach Shaun Derry has spoken to the players about the magnitude of Monday nights' clash.
'He has been talking with players individually and that is an important reason why Shaun is part of the coaching staff. The love, the passion and experience he has at this football club. Nobody knows these sorts of games and what it means more than Shaun.'
This is the first meeting between the two teams in front of spectators since February 2020.