Crystal Palace forward Connor Wickham relishing Sunderland clash

Crystal Palace forward Connor Wickham has revealed that he is relishing the clash against his former club Sunderland at Selhurst Park.

The 22-year-old played for the Black Cats for four years, but struggled in his time on Wearside, bar one season when he scored five goals to fire the club to safety in the Premier League.

Wickham signed for Palace in the summer for £9m, and he believes that his confidence has been restored by his move to Alan Pardew's men.

He told the Daily Star: "I've not got a point to prove. I know what I can do and I will show the people here what I can do. I look forward to every game but this game in particular will be good for me.

"I had four years up at Sunderland and I'm grateful for what they did for me. But now I've a new project. I got five goals to help them avoid the drop. That was a good period for me. I've always known I can score goals.

"That was the only time I was given a chance to play as a striker there and prove I could do it. But the following season I went back to playing on the left and my confidence got knocked again. Now I have come to a club which has a manager who believes in me. I'm a million times happier at Palace than I was at Sunderland."

Wickham has made just four appearances for Palace since his move.