Scott Dann says Crystal Palace need to perform at Arsenal and Man Utd

Crystal Palace defender Scott Dann says they need good performances in upcoming trips to Arsenal and Manchester United in order to go into their FA Cup semi-final in good heart.

Palace can breathe a lot more easily after beating Norwich 1-0 at the weekend to claim a first Premier League win since December 19 and they reached 38 points with a 0-0 draw against Everton at Selhurst Park on Wednesday night.

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The Eagles are now a healthy 11 points clear of the drop zone and can begin to look forward to their Wembley clash with Watford on April 24.

However, first they face tricky matches at the Emirates (Sunday) and Old Trafford (next Wednesday) and Dann thinks a pair of solid displays would be a welcome boost.

"We have got two tough away games before the semi-final and we need to get some more momentum going into that game," said the centre-back.

"We have still got ambitions of getting as high as we can in the league. We have got a lot of players coming back from injury and the squad is looking a lot fuller now.

"It is a good headache for the gaffer (Alan Pardew) to have. He had good options to bring on (against Everton) and the bench is probably as strong as it has been for a long time."

Palace fans may feel the Everton game was an opportunity missed, because the visitors had James McCarthy sent off in the second half.

And Dann said: "I thought we played well, moved the ball well. I do not think there were nerves there, which was good to see.

"We feel it is two points dropped but it is another point in the right direction, especially with the run we were on previously.

"After they went a man down we had some quite good chances in the second half, even in the first half, but it was not to be and we could not quite put the ball in the back of the net."