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Blackie says both managers will pay each other respect, but confesses that both gaffers are really eager to be victorious: He said:
"I look forward to meeting up with him after the game, but not before - you wouldn't do that with any opposition manager - because there is a big job to concentrate on.
"On Sunday Neil is in the way of our dream but although he is our adversary at the moment we are still friends. He gave me my chance and I will always be grateful for that.
"But there is no question that Neil will want to get one over on us, as you could see by his celebration when Palace scored against us at Bramall Lane in December.
"He wants to win like any manager would but he will be trying twice as hard against us so in a way I would rather not be playing Palace. I looked at the fixture list last summer, saw this fixture and wondered if fate might throw this situation up, but I would have taken it to be in this wonderful, exciting position.
"Overall, though, this is not about Neil Warnock or Kevin Blackwell for us, it is all about us winning a league game to give us a chance of automatic promotion - the opposition just happens to be Crystal Palace.
"This is a new era for the Blades and although I understand that a quirk of fate has set this up, I don't want to dwell in the past."