Sam Allardyce urges Crystal Palace players to "control their nerves"

Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has confessed that Tuesday night's relegation showdown with Swansea City will likely come down to a battle of nerves between the two strugglers.

The Eagles head into the match winless in their last five top-flight outings, leaving them one point clear of danger and a further three ahead of bottom side Swansea.

That gap could be massively reduced should the Swans, now under new management following the appointment of ex-Bayern Munich chief Paul Clement, pick up a rare win in South London.

Allardyce has urged his players to keep their heads in the relegation six-pointer, as he goes in search of his first victory in charge of the club at the third attempt.

"Swansea is a massive game for the nerves of our players," he told reporters. "They have to control their nerves on that day, because everybody expects us to win on the basis that Swansea are struggling. We are struggling, but they are struggling really badly.

"When they have let goals in, they've conceded three or four. People are expecting us to go out on Tuesday night and thrash Swansea which won't be the case. We would like to beat them by more than one or two goals. But we really have to hold our nerve on Tuesday and produce our best performance."

Swansea have the joint-worst defensive record in the Premier League along with Hull City, shipping 10 goals in their last three at the hands of Bournemouth, West Ham United and Middlesbrough.