Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a 'God-like' opponent for Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew

Palace will have to be at their best to stop Ibrahimovic and Manchester United
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Andy Sims14 December 2016

Alan Pardew finally gets the chance to come up against Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Wednesday, 18 years after first meeting the superstar striker.

At the start of his managerial career Pardew was on a scouting trip in Sweden when he was introduced to a 17-year-old Ibrahimovic.

The forward went on to have a stellar career with Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain before joining Manchester United in the summer.

It has been a long time coming but Pardew is now relishing the chance to send his Crystal Palace side out against United and Ibrahimovic at Selhurst Park.

"Coming up against Zlatan is one thing I've not done in my career and I'm looking forward to it," said the Eagles boss.

"I met him when he was 17 in Sweden. My wife is Swedish and her family all love him to bits. He's an icon there, almost god-like.

"He always makes me smile, and he makes me smile as a person because I think he plays in the right spirit.

"He probably doesn't remember but it was a social meeting and he carried himself well and spoke well, very professionally, even at a young age.

"Can you imagine him here, or at Newcastle or West Ham? They'd have loved him. He's an infectious person, he represents the game in the right manner, he's a great talent and he's scored some wonder goals."

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Palace have taken four points from their past two games - having previously lost six on the spin - but their defensive problems reappeared in the 3-3 draw at Hull on Saturday.

"Obviously we need to tighten up," added Pardew. "Our 3-0 win against Southampton was the benchmark and we need to reproduce that against United.

"Our defenders have been here two or three years, no one is new, and they have done a brilliant job in the past.

"But defending is a team duty, everyone has a responsibility, including the substitutes.

"We have to find solutions and that's the hard part. It's easy to say what's right or wrong, we need to find solutions. We need to get back to how we performed against Southampton."

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Pardew will be without midfielder Jason Puncheon, who is suspended after collecting a fifth booking of the season at Hull.

Defender James Tomkins is also ruled out of the clash with a groin injury.

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