LAMPS: I FANCY ANOTHER BATTLE AGAINST VIEIRA

FRANK LAMPARD is relishing the opportunity for another battle with Patrick Vieira – this time from the safety of the dugout.

Two of the Premier League’s greatest midfielders (right, in their playing days) go head-to-head this afternoon when Everton take on Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.

Everton boss Lampard recalled: “The battles were always good. He was in that group of top, world-class midfielders in the Premier League. I was a young player coming through when I first played against him.

He was not that much older than me, but there was myself, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane was already around, and then there was Steven Gerrard.

“I felt like a young kid in the first few games against Vieira and then there were some good battles after that. He was a great midfielder.”

Lampard has first-hand experience of Vieira the manager, having played under the Frenchman at New York City.

Of that experience, he said: “I was 38 and started to see things differently and was inquisitive about how he worked. I was really impressed with him.”