Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has made a highly unconventional move ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Leeds United, publicly announcing his entire starting eleven. The Austrian boss revealed the team during his pre-match press conference, effectively handing the information directly to his opposite number, Daniel Farke.
Glasner's Rotational Masterplan
Glasner made a staggering 11 changes for Thursday night's UEFA Conference League draw with Finnish side KuPS at Selhurst Park. Only veteran defender Nathaniel Clyne, 34, was given a complete rest, with ten other regular starters named on the bench.
This radical rotation is a direct response to a punishing December schedule that sees the South London club play eight matches. The FA Cup holders face Leeds at Elland Road less than 48 hours after their European fixture, before a Carabao Cup trip to Arsenal on Tuesday night.
"The 11 players who did not start (against KuPS), they will start at Leeds - Daniel Farke will know it now," Glasner stated frankly. He added with a touch of humour regarding selection for the Arsenal game, "If I knew this, I would be David Copperfield. And I told you on day number one, I'm not."
The Calvert-Lewin Conundrum
The Palace boss was equally candid about the primary threat his team will face at Elland Road: the red-hot form of Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The former Everton forward has scored in his last four Premier League outings, including a superb headed equaliser at Brentford last weekend.
Glasner acknowledged that stopping the supply to Calvert-Lewin is the obvious, yet critical, challenge. "We want to avoid the crosses. We want to avoid the headers in the box," he said. "He is having a great time. And yes, we want to avoid the crosses."
The manager backed his centre-backs to handle the aerial threat, citing their general proficiency. "We are one of the teams defending the crosses in the box very well," Glasner claimed, while admitting exceptions like Erling Haaland's headed goal for Manchester City last Sunday. He conceded that in a league of this quality, you must sometimes "accept that you play in the Premier League against good opposition."
Form Guide and Tactical Timings
Palace travel north seeking a fourth consecutive Premier League victory, having recorded wins against Wolves, Burnley, and Fulham. Their task, however, is complicated by Leeds' own upturn in form.
Daniel Farke's side are unbeaten in three since switching to a 3-5-2 formation, making them a more robust and unpredictable opponent. When asked if he would have preferred to face Leeds before this tactical shift, Glasner quipped, "I would have preferred not to have played them within 48 hours!"
Looking beyond the immediate fixture pile-up, Palace's European journey continues into the new year. The club has discovered they will face either HSK Zrinjski Mostar of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Czech side SK Sigma Olomouc in a two-legged UEFA Conference League playoff in February.
