Walter Mazzarri has been left surprised by Crystal Palace's Premier League relegation struggle and is wary of the Eagles' recent resurgence ahead of tomorrow's Selhurst Park clash.

Sam Allardyce's men spent heavily both in the summer and January but for a second-straight season have failed to drag themselves clear of relegation worries.

After back-to-back wins they have jumped a point clear of the top-flight drop zone coming into tomorrow's game, but Mazzarri is more surprised they have been left needing points for survival.

“Crystal Palace are one of those teams which looking at their squad, no one would have thought they would have had relegation troubles,” he said. “Also, we will play them during a good spell of form, because they have had some very positive results lately.

“They have got a stadium and fan base which are very important for them and it won’t be easy, so we have to go onto the pitch knowing we can’t make any mistakes.

“Aside from a good squad they are in good form, and the game will be decided by individuals.

“As I always say to my players, we have to go on to the pitch with their head and their legs both in a perfect condition.”

Mazzarri has also warned his own players they are not safe from the drop themselves.

A seven-point gap to the bottom three will probably be enough for the Hornets save for all but a suicidal run of form.

He said: "Anything can happen, there’s still 11 games to go and we can have a great PL or put ourselves in trouble from here.

"We’re seven points clear but if I’m not mistaken, that team has played one more game and we are nine from the other teams.

"There are other teams, in a similar situation, like Bournemouth – it’s very important now we have many of our players back, it’s important with 11 games to go and 33 points to win that anything can still happen."