VETERAN striker Kevin Phillips believes the Eagles will go into Friday’s play-off semi-final against arch rivals Brighton as clear underdogs.

Crystal Palace signed off the Championship programme with a 3-2 final day success over Peterborough, their first win in 10 games.

It has been a mixed season for the Selhurst Park outfit, who at one time looked set to secure one of the two automatic promotion spots until their form took an alarming dip.

Their play-off berth was only guaranteed with the Posh win and they now face in-form Brighton at home on Friday before the return leg at the Amex next Monday.

Palace will be considered by many as rank outsiders, but Phillips insists being able to sign off the league season with a win will give them a lift going into what may prove to be a dramatic couple of games against the Seagulls.

The 39-year-old said: “They will come here Friday expecting to get a result because we went down there four or five weeks ago and were convincingly beaten by them and that will be on their mind.

“Mid-season we were excellent, but then for the last eight or nine games things haven’t gone the way we would have liked.

“But we are now unbeaten in our last four and that is momentum going into the play-offs.

“The win against Peterborough was a huge lift for us and now we will go into Friday full of confidence in front of a packed house for a local derby.

“We can’t concentrate too much on the fact it is a derby.

“I find it stupid that it is a derby because it is miles away anyway, but we will go into Friday and play the game and not the occasion.

“I was in the play-offs last year and it is usually the team which holds their nerve and produces on the night that generally goes through.”

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