Sunderland midfielder Jordi Gomez has admitted that his side's Premier League clash against Crystal Palace is vital in the club's battle against relegation.
The Black Cats have lost back-to-back matches in the top flight since recording their first win of the campaign against Newcastle United, and are now in danger of being left adrift in the bottom three.
Gomez believes that the match is huge in the context of the club's season, and feels that Sam Allardyce's men can take positives from their narrow defeat against Southampton on their trip to Selhurst Park.
He told the club's official website: "I think it's a very important game for us. We need some points on the board so we'll try to do our best to get a good result.
"I thought we were quite solid and we conceded only from a penalty so we have to take the positives from every game so we'll take that for the next game.
"They're in a good moment of form and they're playing well – they beat Liverpool last week – so we know it's going to be difficult every game in the Premier League is difficult so we have to be ready for it."
Sunderland are 19th in the table ahead of their clash against Palace.
Simon Sinclair
