- Tickets available for Thursday's game against KuPS here.
- How to watch and follow Thursday evening's match LIVE.
The Eagles face Finnish champions KuPS at Selhurst Park on Thursday (18th December, 20:00 GMT) – with a win likely to secure a top-eight finish – before, 48 hours later, kicking off against Leeds United at Elland Road (Saturday, 20th December, 20:00).
Three days later, another fixture: a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium (23rd December, 20:00).
Heading into such a busy spell, Glasner confirmed in his pre-KuPS press conference he would field different teams for our next two games: “No player will start against [both] KuPs and Leeds.
“I and we all feel responsible for the players’ welfare. I just spoke to Will [Hughes] and he experienced it a few years ago – when it was on Boxing Day and 28th [December], sometimes there were games, and he played it – but I just think now the intensity of the game has increased.
“Maybe you can do it once, but it’s our 27th game now [this season], and we have to think further, because we play on the 18th, 20th, 23rd and 28th [December], and 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th January – therefore it’s just irresponsible if we do this.
“We will start with two completely different teams, but of course the minutes will be shared a little bit if this is possible.
“I always want to play the best team from the first until the last minute, but this game demands this from us, so that is why we will do it.”
The Eagles will be without Daichi Kamada for this run of matches, after the Japan international limped off midway through the second-half against Manchester City.
“It is how it looked when he walked off the pitch,” Glasner confirmed. “It’s a serious hamstring injury, and he will be out for at least eight to 10 weeks.
“It doesn’t affect the thinking in tomorrow’s game – he won’t be back – and our focus is completely on the three games within five days, starting with KuPS and then going to Leeds and playing at the Emirates. Then we have a bit of time, and then we play Tottenham at home before 2025 ends, so no, it doesn’t affect the next couple of days.
“It’s not what we want, but on the other side, it’s part of football – it’s part of sports – when you play so many games that things can happen. It’s not a normal muscle injury, it was just an incident with his landing and body position – he overstretched everything, the full weight on the front, and that’s why it happens.
“He usually never has muscle injuries. But unfortunately it’s part of our game.”
