Quick Turnaround For The Eagles As They Head To Yorkshire

No sooner had the final whistle been blown by the official on Thursday evening in the draw with KuPS, Oliver Glasner turned his attentions to the game against Leeds United less than 48 hours later. 

There was much disappointment at not managing to beat the Finnish champions which has meant that Palace face a two legged play off tie to make it into the round of 16, and potentially cause more fixture chaos in February. 

With the Austrian being a man of his word, no player will start both the game against KuPS and the visit to Leeds, but we expect a stronger starting line up even if a number of the first team debutants performed well in the final league phase fixture. 

It is reported that there are no new injury concerns even though both Will Hughes and Tyrick Mitchell were on the end of tough challenges later in the second half.

While the changes have attempted to cover off the player welfare side of things, more work may be required on the psychological side of having to play so many games in quick succession. By the time the final whistle blows on Tuesday evening, that will be three games in less than five days, right before the so called ‘busy’ festive schedule. 

We all know that Glasner has been very good when facing the press, but continued speculation about his future and some very forceful questions from the media on several subjects are clearly posed for a reaction. He has of course dealt with them all with all his usual personable manners but there has been some annoyance at some of them which he clearly has no time for. 

The bench against KuPS was probably the best selection of substitutes that any Palace manager has had the pleasure of selecting from. That may not be quite the case against Leeds but those youngsters that debuted on Thursday night will likely take their place and called upon after that first experience. 

The challenges continue to come and it is up to Glasner, his management team, and the players to deal with each one that comes their way. Let’s hope it is a point or three before heading to the Emirates on Tuesday.