Crystal Palace

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

To say Crystal Palace have made an underwhelming start to their busy run of festive fixtures would be an understatement after their 4-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday.

The Premier League defeat - their second in a row - came only 48 hours after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Finnish champions KuPS in the Conference League which added an additional two-legged play-off tie to their already packed schedule.

Oliver Glasner had decided to heavily rotate his squad for the two fixtures with him fielding a mixture of fringe players and youngsters in the must-win match in Europe.

But it has not gone to plans for the Palace manager as they were well beaten by a resurgent Leeds side despite him making 11 changes to revert to his first-choice starting line-up on their Premier League return.

The Eagles will have very little time to regroup as they play their third game in five days - a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday - before going back to league action against Tottenham next Sunday.

With them scheduled to play eight matches in the space of 23 days, it is a period where the strength in depth of Glasner's FA Cup holders will be thoroughly tested.

And the Austrian tactician's ability to balance squad rotation with maintaining competitiveness could be critical as the Eagles look to juggle domestic ambitions while also challenging for a title in Europe.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Leeds' performance

What did you make of Palace's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke makes just one change to the side that held Brentford to a 1-1 draw last weekend.

Brenden Aaronson replaces Ao Tanaka among the starters as Dominic Calvert-Lewin leads the line looking to score in a fifth successive Premier League game.

Leeds United XI: Perri, Bogle, Gudmundsson, Ampadu, Struijk, Rodon, Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson, Bijol, Stach, Okafor.

Subs: Darlow, Piroe, Harrison, Tanaka, Bornauw, Justin, Byram, Gnonto, Gruev.

Oliver Glasner makes 11 changes from the 2-2 draw against KuPS only 48 hours ago as the Crystal Palace manager reverts to his first-choice starting line-up.

However, injured Daichi Kamada and Ismaïla Sarr, who is at Afcon with Senegal, miss out from the 3-0 defeat by Manchester City last Sunday as Will Hughes and Eddie Nketiah replace them.

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Guehi, Lacroix, Richards, Mitchell, Hughes, Wharton, Clyne, Pino, Nketiah, Mateta.

Subs: Benitez, Lerma, Uche, Esse, Canvot, Sosa, Rodney, Devenny, Drakes-Thomas.

Image source, Getty Images

There are eight games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Newcastle v Chelsea (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Burnley

• Brighton v Sunderland - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Manchester City v West Ham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Wolves v Brentford

• Tottenham v Liverpool (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Everton v Arsenal (20:00)

• Leeds v Crystal Palace (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Man City v West Ham" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Tottenham v Liverpool", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

If Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin had hit this run of form a little bit earlier, he would have been my vote for Sports Personality of the Year.

Calvert-Lewin has scored four goals in four games and his leap to score against Brentford last week was incredible.

Fair play to Leeds boss Daniel Farke too. I've said it before, but I am delighted for him.

He was written off a few weeks ago as not being able to manage in the Premier League and it felt as if some people were waiting for him to be sacked. He has proved them all wrong.

Farke's side are always a handful at home and will relish the challenge of getting another good result on Saturday, but I can see this being a very close contest.

Crystal Palace are the counter-attack kings and they are especially effective away from home - they have won their past three matches on the road and have the best away record in the Premier League this season with five wins, a draw and only two defeats from eight games so far.

So, do I go with the energy of Leeds or back streetwise Palace?

I am tempted to go with Oliver Glasner's side to nick it but they have got a Europa Conference League game to contend with on Thursday, which has stretched them in the past.

They are going to miss Ismaila Sarr, too, who has gone to Afcon with Senegal, so on that basis I am going for another draw instead.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Henry Cowling
BBC Sport journalist

Leeds will be hoping to continue an encouraging run of three games without defeat when they welcome Crystal Palace to Elland Road on Saturday. BBC Sport looks at some of the key themes going into the match.

Leeds looking more potent

Leeds have enjoyed an improvement in attacking output since Daniel Farke changed his system to a 3-5-2 for the second half of their narrow loss to Manchester City. They have scored nine goals in 315 minutes since that point, with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the scoresheet in all four games.

Despite scoring just once last time out against Brentford, Leeds recorded an impressive 18 shots and racked up an xG of 1.39. It continues a positive trend in their numbers over the past three and a half games.

They have had 54 shots in that time, averaging 13.5 per game - an improvement on the average of 11.4 per game previously. They are also creating better quality chances.

Palace's post-Europe blues

Crystal Palace could not halt a winless home run lasting over a decade against Manchester City last weekend, losing 3-0 to Pep Guardiola's side. However, the result could have been very different if Palace had taken their chances. Oliver Glasner's side recorded an xG of 2.08 compared to City's 1.19, and had 21 more touches in the opposition box than the visitors.

It is the sixth time out of seven so far this season that Palace have failed to win a Premier League game directly after a Conference League match, drawing two and losing four. They have failed to win all five of their league games that have come after a league phase match in the Conference League.

The Eagles come into this game off the back of another European fixture – they drew with Finnish champions KuPS with a heavily rotated team on Thursday night.

That was the first of eight matches in 23 days for Palace's thinly stretched squad, and their failure to win means they will have a two-legged Conference League play-off to navigate in February.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Leeds United at Elland Road (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Glasner confirmed they they did not pick up any new injuries in their draw with KuPS on Thursday, but insisted he is "not [magician] David Copperfield" and could not predict his XI to face Arsenal on Tuesday. He said: "If nothing happens, the 11 players who did not start [in Conference League] will start at Leeds. I don't know what happens there and who will be available for the Arsenal game."

• On if he would have preferred to play Leeds before their change of system in recent weeks, the Palace boss said he "would have preferred to play them not within 48 hours", but added: "We don't think too much about the opposition because we have no influence. Maybe they change the system again. We have to be ready and they can, even against Brentford, change within the game."

• Despite having the chance to return to the top four if other results go their way, Glasner did not want to be drawn into talk of table position: "Any word on the Premier League table - you win two, you're a Champions League [team] and you lose two, you're playing against relegation. So it's very tight and, again, I think right now it makes no sense looking at the table."

• On being ready to face a team like Leeds with such a tight turnaround: "You have to be psychologically ready for every Premier League team, not just for Leeds. You can see it in every single game, every team is able score from open play, from set-plays and from transitions, so you always have to be psychologically ready. We proved it many times that we can deal with it, so no concerns at all."

• The Eagles have been good away from home but Glasner insisted the "approach is always the same" at whichever ground they are playing, adding: "We always have a great mentality. The players always show a great mentality, and especially a winning attitude, and the approach is the same."

• On whether he instructs players to take as much time off as possible when they are playing three games in five days: "First of all, they are all adults and they don't need this advice because they are very good professionals. On the other side, they have no time for all this stuff."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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We asked for your thoughts after Thursday's Conference League game between Crystal Palace and KuPS at Selhurst Park.

Here are some of your comments:

Andy: A good performance, especially making 11 changes and having five players pulled up from the academy. Although the referee sent a player off, I feel there was some inconsistency with his decisions and that was echoed by the crowd. Overall, we can take away a lot of positives.

Tony: It was good to see future players given a chance. They all had very good games so things are looking good.

Steve: The younger players making their debuts were incredible, especially Joel Drakes-Thomas who was outstanding and my man of the match. Hopefully we have some extra squad depth now, with these young players coming through. Apart from a few minutes where Palace lost focus, we had this game. A big congratulations to KuPS for putting two goals past us even though they were outclassed for the rest of the game.

Pedro: Glasner's gamble didn't pay off and his substitutions were misplaced and mistimed. He has earned the right to do that, so let's put this result behind us. Let's get wins away at Leeds and Arsenal, then we can move on.

Al: Embarrassing. The board deserves to face the criticism. The manager had to gamble on youngsters because his squad is too thin. We are now in the play-offs and have to play two extra games. Another frustrating European night at home.

Image source, Getty Images

In the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show, ex-manager Sam Allardyce for a wide-ranging chat about being a head coach in elite football.

The man affectionately known as Big Sam - who managed Newcastle, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton and Leeds among others - breaks down the principles that sustained his career, why he regrets not confronting criticism of his playing style sooner and why he's encouraged by the league's evolution this season.

He also reflects on working with Wayne - how he wishes he'd managed him earlier and why he never wanted to sub him off, alongside sharing why he was so disappointed not to be given longer with the Toffees.

Plus, Allardyce also reveals some classic dressing room stories - from warning a player he had 30 minutes to save himself after a champagne night out, to urging Palace chairman Steve Parish to speak his mind to the squad after a bad defeat.

Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has been speaking to TNT Sports after his side secured a spot in the Conference League play-offs: "A good game. The first half was very good. I'm very pleased with the youngsters.

"We lost a little bit of structure for 10 minutes, and you get three finishes at the end and score four goals.

"We wanted to win and go straight into the round of 16. I knew this could happen -we accept it.

"Again, especially with the younger players, we can see what they need - all four under-21 players got cramp. We rested a few players because we knew that we will need them for our next game in a few days.

"Leeds know our starting XI now because none of the players who started this match will play on Saturday. It will be a competitive game, we will show a big fight and hopefully come back with three points."

On the club's transfer stance for the January window: "I don't want to talk about it, because if everyone knows, it gets more expensive.

"Everything is on track. The club are working hard to get these deals done - we trust them. It's needed to support the team. We have stayed in four competitions, but I think we need one or two more players."

Neil Johnston
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

Crystal Palace's fixture calendar has already reached comical levels.

No sooner had the referee blown the final whistle to signal a 2-2 draw against KuPS in the Conference League on Thursday, Oliver Glasner's attention switched to Saturday's Premier League match at Leeds United.

Two first-team matches in 48 hours swiftly followed by a League Cup quarter-final at Arsenal next Tuesday.

And now Palace face negotiating two additional games after failing to claim an automatic place in the last 16 of Europe's third-tier competition.

Instead they will have to play a two-legged play-off in February just to reach the knockout stage.

Glasner was forced to field an under-strength side against KuPS due to the tight turnaround before the Leeds game.

Palace do not have the strength in depth like some of their Premier League rivals.

Yet 16-year-old Joel Drakes-Thomas, Dean Benamar, 17, and George King, 18, did not look out of depth as the academy trio made their senior debuts.

In the past seven months Palace have won the FA Cup and the Community Shield, while they occupy fifth spot in the Premier League.

And despite finishing two points and two places off an automatic last-16 spot, they are still alive in Europe.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views here

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies

With a Premier League game at Leeds just 48 hours away, it's all change at Selhurst Park as Oliver Glasner makes 11 changes to his Crystal Palace starting XI.

Sixteen-year-old defender Joel Drakes-Thomas makes his first senior appearance for the Eagles in a back-line that also includes Dean Benamar, 17, and 18-year-old George King.

Both Benamar and King are also making their senior debuts for the club.

Palace's bench is packed with first-team regulars.

Crystal Palace XI: Benitez, Benamar, Canvot, Lerma, King, Sosa, Rodney, Devenny, Esse, Drake-Thomas, Uche.

Substitutes: Henderson, Mitchell, Lacroix, Guehi, Nketiah, Pino, Mateta, Hughes, Wharton, Richards, Matthews, Casey.

Finnish champions KuPS are managed by Jarkko Wiss, whose playing career included spells at Stockport County and Hibernian.

His starting XI includes Polish forward Piotr Parzyszek, who was once on the books of Charlton Athletic.

Ex-Brentford midfielder Jaakko Oksanen also starts, while former Yeovil midfielder Paulius Golubickas is on the bench.

KuPS starting XI: Kreidl, Antwi, Miettinen, Cisse, Hamalainen, Arifi, Oksanen, Pennanen, Ruoppi, Savolainen, Parzyszek.

Substitutes: Armah, Paulo Ricardo, Golubickas, Hakala, Konate, Luyeye-Lutumba, Lotjonen, Pitkanen, Sadiku, Toure, Voutilainen.

Chelsea's priority next summer will be bolstering their central midfield, with Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton mentioned. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Meanwhile, Palace are looking at right wing-back options for the January transfer window after an injury to Daniel Munoz, which could rule the 29-year-old out for an extended period. (Sky Sports), external

One of the wide defenders the Eagles are interested in is Bayern Munich's Sacha Boey. The 25-year-old French full-back is expected to leave the Bundesliga club next month. (Standard), external

Finally, Oliver Glasner believes 25-year-old defender Marc Guehi will see out his contract at the club and stay until the end of the season. (Standard), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

The draw for the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup has been made.

• Chelsea v Arsenal or Crystal Palace

• Newcastle v Manchester City

Arsenal host Crystal Palace on Tuesday, 23 December for the right to play Chelsea in the last four.

The first leg will take place week commencing 12 January 2026 and the second week beginning 2 February.

Marissa Thomas
BBC Sport journalist

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Conference League game against KuPS at Selhurst Park (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On Daniel Munoz, who is set to be out for an extended period with a knee injury: "When you play so many games, things can happen. It is not a normal muscle injury because it was an incident with his landing and the body position. He overstretched everything and had the full weight on the front, and that's why this happened. Usually, he never has muscle injuries but, unfortunately, this is part of our game."

• On his contract situation: "No time for distraction. I am never thinking about my future at the moment. I am just getting everything sorted with the players. We have 16 outfield players available. I don't think for one second about my future. It's not important right now. I know there are so many rumours, but I don't know how many clubs I have managed in the past three months and I am still sitting here."

• He added: "As soon as we take a decision, the players will hear first and you [the media] second. When should I talk about my contract? We want to do it in a relaxed atmosphere and at the moment there is no relaxed atmosphere and that's why we pushed it back."

• On whether he would find it difficult to leave after what he has achieved at the club: "You are talking like this [it is the end], but we are in the middle of the season. There are many things we want to achieve. We are in all competitions and we are in a great position in the Premier League. We want now to qualify straight for the last 16 of the Conference League, then we play the quarter-finals in the Carabao Cup. That's what we are focusing on. No speculation about myself or any player leads to us losing our mood or not enjoying being successful together."

• On playing three games in five days: "No player will start for KuPS and Leeds. I and we all feel responsible for the players' welfare. The intensity of the game has increased and we have to think further. It is irresponsible if we do this so we will start with two completely different teams, but the minutes will be shared a little bit if possible."

• On KuPS: "It's a team that wants to play football from the back. They don't score a lot, but also don't concede many. For them, it is an important game to get a win and qualify, and they will be highly motivated. They want to have possession and play in a 4-2-2-2 system which is very fluid."

Alex Pewter
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Four matches into an eight-game December, and Crystal Palace can claim four victories, three actual ones and one "Graham Potter" xG win over Manchester City, which naturally doesn't count.

Despite the brutality of a 3-0 home defeat, the team can take plenty of positives, even if they didn't take their respective chances. It can be deemed as a bit of turbulence on their journey, rather than the literal plane that didn't take off last Thursday evening in Dublin.

However, the casualties of such a congested schedule are mounting. Daniel Munoz has joined the knee-injury-surgery support group, while the team will hope the hamstring injury suffered by Daichi Kamada sees a quick recovery. Ismaila Sarr did make a sharp return, though mainly to Senegal's benefit, as he joins them for Afcon.

Thursday's game against the newly crowned Finnish champions KuPS, followed by Leeds United 48 hours later, is the most difficult pair of fixtures for Oliver Glasner to manage logistically. Twice publicly, he has stated that he plans to make 11 changes between matches. Whether that is possible, given the squad's constraints, remains to be seen.

The KuPS game itself is a must-win fixture to achieve a top-eight finish in the Conference League, and Glasner has been reluctant to grant academy players minutes as a form of charity. Players have had to earn that opportunity.

The Shelbourne match gave a debut to 17-year-old forward Benji Casey, who leapfrogged players in older age brackets, to travel with the senior squad. Casey, by reputation, even at a young age, fits the Justin Devenny or Rio Cardines prototype – exhibiting professionalism and maturity in his football. That is likely to ingratiate any player, junior or senior, with this manager and staff.

With great fixture congestion certainly comes opportunity. It is up to the players on the fringes to grasp it on Thursday evening.

Find more from Alex Pewter at FYP podcast, external

Manchester City are targeting Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi as the man to lead an overhaul of their defence next season. (Times - subscription required), external

Meanwhile, City, Manchester United and Chelsea are monitoring Daniel Munoz but Crystal Palace have no desire to sell the wing-back. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Palace fans

Gavin: This was always going to be a challenging match and so it proved. Poor finishing, which is a growing trend, cost Palace and in contrast City took their chances well. Frustrating misses from Jean-Philippe Mateta, Yeremy Pino and Adam Wharton should have been taken, but we seem to lack confidence in that department. Pino's miss will no doubt haunt him for a while! There's always the next game!

Lee: Glasner has to crack the code for winning at Selhurst. Mateta isn't the solution anymore, and neither is Pino. What Palace desperately needs is an out-and-out goal scorer. As good as Wharton is in other areas, he doesn't look like he has goals in him. If it were up to me, I'd cash in - sell Wharton and Mateta for £50m+ in the January window, then reinvest in a proper striker and a midfielder who can actually deliver goals.

Robert: An extremely even game. The only difference were Haaland, Foden, and Haaland...!

Andy: Good effort overall, however wastefull chances allowed City to take the win. It's good to see training and planning lead to chances, but the extra touch and looking to favoured foot lead to missed chances. Eddie Nketiah showed what a snap shot on target can do, but on another day it could fall at the foot of a rushing player. Keep the positivity and let's get a fourth away win at Leeds next week.

City fans

Douglas: We're doing what we've always done - slow start then warming up come November onwards. They will continue to improve. Are there cracks beginning to form at Arsenal?

Harry: That pervasive hole in our midfield persists. Luckily, Palace were incredibly wasteful and our attack was on fire again. You can't be second best and win 3-0 away from home- we were the better team at the end of it and deserved the win. On any other day Palace would have had two or three and credit to Guehi as he is always an absolute powerhouse. Haaland was truly at the races today, Foden's goal certainly makes up for a generally lackluster performance from him. We desperately need a physical midfielder and a fullback or two in January. Commiserations to Palace.

Rich: We are still not playing well. There is loads of room for improvement but we are second in the league. I feel once we properly click, watch out League Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and the Champions League. We have several world class operators and more coming through - Tijjani Reinjders, Nico O'Reily, Matheus Nunes, and the unsung hero Nico Gonzalez. Not many teams go to Palace and win by that margin against a very solid football team.

Marcel: Not at our best and under pressure in the first half but good teams find a way to get a result. We are looking good for the rest of the season and I think Arsenal will fade away as usual. The title is ours for the taking.