Despite the boost Zaha’s return will give to his side, Vieira says the players around him must also demonstrate their quality.
“He doesn’t take the pressure off other players, it is more just one strength that we have in the squad,” Vieira explained. “Of course, Wilfried can score goals from individual quality or individual talent that he can show during games.
“The responsibility of the players around has to be massive as well. We can’t put all our hopes on only one player. I want everyone to take responsibility, I want everyone to perform as best as they can.
“There are lots of players who can give more to the team to allow Wilfried or the other players around to score goals.”
The manager is also pleased by the return of James McArthur to the squad, who is yet to make an appearance this season due to injury – but says patience is required.
“He has been training well,” he explained. “He showed he can play, but we shouldn’t forget he has been out for a while. We need to give him time to get to his feet and train week after week.
“I am pleased with what I see in training and if he is in the squad he can get into games. We shouldn’t ask too much from him at the moment because it’s been a long time for him.”
While McArthur has returned to the Premier League matchday squad, Vieira says Nathan Ferguson is making strong progress in his own return to full fitness.
“[Returning to first-team football] would be good for him and the football club,” he said. “It’s been a long way for Nathan. He’s a good player.
“He played 45 minutes with the Under-21s, then one hour in the last game. The next [step] will be for him to play 75 minutes and see how he can progress from that.
“He has been making good progress and he is in a good place at the moment.”
Palace take on a confident Aston Villa under Unai Emery, the latest in a series of difficult fixtures to kick-off 2023.
“I am not surprised at all [by Emery’s impact], looking at the experience he had and the teams he managed,” he said. “He is one of the quality managers in the Premier League and I'm not surprised he is doing well at Villa.
“It’s been really challenging. It’s a tough run, but you have to play those teams. It is difficult, of course, one after the other, but I strongly believe there are no easy games in the Premier League – especially when every point is important.
“We have to focus on ourselves, how we can improve between the Liverpool and Villa games. There were a lot of positives to take from Liverpool to challenge ourselves, to build confidence and to perform.”
