Crystal Palace have sacked manager Patrick Vieira after a 12-match winless run.
Palace have not won a match in 2023 and were beaten 1-0 by Brighton in the Premier League on Wednesday, their third defeat in a row.
They are 12th in the table but are only three points above 18th-placed Bournemouth, who have a game in hand.
Under-21s boss Paddy McCarthy will take charge for Sunday’s visit to leaders Arsenal on Sunday (14:00 GMT) after he led training on Friday morning.
“Obviously it’s a massive moment for myself, but ultimately it’s not about me,” said McCarthy, who will work alongside U21s assistant Darren Powell.
“I’ll push all of that emotion to one side. Yes, it’s going to be a great opportunity for myself and Darren to manage at that level, but the focus is solely on setting the gameplan and implementing that on Sunday.”
Frenchman Vieira, 46, was appointed before the start of the 2021-22 season and led the Eagles to a 12th-placed finish, earning praise for an attacking style.
However, this season they have scored just 21 goals in 27 games – only Wolves, Everton and bottom-of-the-table Southampton have fewer.
Before their defeat by Brighton, Palace had gone three consecutive games without a shot on target.
