Oliver Glasner has taken his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Newcastle United.
Crystal Palace returning to Premier League action after their Thursday night European match.
In the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final, Fiorentina losing 3-0 at Selhurst Park.
A quick turnaround two and a half days later, also facing Newcastle United at home.
Oliver Glasner with some thinking to do on rotation, with injury issues as well.
The Crystal Palace boss talking in advance of the NUFC game: “For Eddie Nketiah it is unfortunately the end of the season, so he won’t return until the new season starts. It is the same as with Cheick Doucouré, it’s getting stable, and now his deadline is not Newcastle or Florence, now his deadline should be when the new pre-season starts.”
Oliver Glasner also having to deal with potential missing players due to injuries/knocks picked up on on Thursday night: “We have to assess Evann Guessand’s knee. He got a hit and let’s see….he could walk. He didn’t limp when he left the game after the final whistle. Of course, we have to see how JP Mateta’s knee reacts, but therefore, Jorgen Strand Larsen comes back, and then Christantus Uche comes back, so we’ll have two more attacking options, and that’s good.”
As for rotation plans, Oliver Glasner claiming: “We are not planning to rotate massively, because I’m convinced the players are fresher now, and the best preparation for every single game is a good performance and a good result in the game before. This is how we want to go to Florence, with a good performance and a good result, and therefore we need fresh players, and, of course, a good performance.”
With Europe now the massive priority though and the second leg against Fiorentina on Thursday, Oliver Glasner also admitting for selection: “We always decide the day before the game, or on a game day, how the players present, and I mentioned it, so we’re always taking the blood, we see the objective parameter, how fatigued they are, and then talking to the players, and if they feel ready, then we start. We had a good break, good recovery, and the players look fresh, but if I feel it’s necessary to rotate six players, I will rotate six players, because we never risk any injuries.”
The Crystal Palace boss then asked about Sunday’s opponents.
Oliver Glasner on Newcastle United and Eddie Howe: “I think Newcastle have struggled a little bit with injuries and also with the tight schedule. They played a great Champions League campaign, especially in the group stage, and then first in the knockout stage against Qarabaq, and then lost against Barcelona, which can happen. I expect them also to be fresher to be honest. They had more than three weeks with no games. I think a few injured players will come back. They missed their captain, Bruno Guimaraes, for a long time, so I think maybe he could be back. It’s Eddie Howe’s team, so they always play with one of the highest intensities in the Premier League, with so much pace. I just saw a list, I think it was from the Champions League, among the top four was the highest-paced wingers, there were three Newcastle players: Anthony Elanga, Anthony Gordon, and I think it was Jacob Murphy. This just shows the profiling they have and we have to be ready for this.”
The Palace boss then adding about United: “On the other side, I don’t know how it is but they had more than three weeks where they could prepare and also reset a little bit, because they conceded quite a few goals in the last games before the break, not just in the Barcelona game, but also in the league. They often conceded two or three goals, and that’s why if we are sharp, if we play our style, I’m pretty convinced that we will create two, three, four chances – and then it’s being efficient and scoring from it and controlling their pace.”
As for Crystal Palace preparations for Sunday, Oliver Glasner stating: “We won’t really train the next two days. With the players who didn’t play, tomorrow there’ll be a light session, because of the runs they did now after the game, and the others will just recover, and then we will have a 30 or 35-minute session, maybe a little bit of tactics for how we expect Newcastle. Then Sunday, 2 ‘o clock, we need to be sharp and we need to be ready. That’s why this win, this performance, this great impact from the bench players, is maybe the best training we have ahead of the Newcastle game.”