“I’m really excited, really looking forward to it,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “In the first home game you want to do well. We know the fans will be up for it and hopefully we will give them the game that they deserve.
“I feel the difference [at Selhurst], of course. The atmosphere the fans manage to create in the stadium. They are really behind the players, players feeling energy. There is not so many places like that in this country.
“Hopefully that will be an important part for us and a really strong tool to help us perform, even more.”
Vieira’s stance is shared by new Chelsea signing Romelu Lukaku, who this week praised Selhurst Park’s unique atmosphere as one of the country’s best.
“It is a really strong statement and a good compliment from Lukaku,” Vieira said, “especially from a player who has travelled around Europe. That will make our fans really proud, our football club really proud.
“This is the strength with our football club, the fanbase, the atmosphere they manage to build. This is what I’m looking forward to: the fans around the players, players missing fans. We’re looking forward to giving them what they deserve.”
You can watch the manager’s press conference in full via Palace TV+ by clicking HERE.