'No player will start both games' - Palace to pick two teams

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says he will field two different starting line-ups for their next two matches to protect player welfare.

Palace host Finnish side KuPS in the Europa Conference League on Thursday (20:00 GMT), and visit Leeds in the Premier League 48 hours later (Saturday, 20:00 GMT).

The Leeds game was moved by the Premier League from the Sunday as Palace then face Arsenal in the EFL Cup quarter-final on Tuesday 23 December.

Glasner, who also confirmed Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada faces up to 10 weeks out with a hamstring injury, said it would be "irresponsible" to play the same team twice in three days.

Palace, fifth in the Premier League, are ninth in the Conference League, just outside the automatic qualification spots for the last 16.

"No player will start against [both] KuPs and Leeds," said Glasner. "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 [26 December] and the 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 18, 20, 23 and 28 [December], and 1, 4, 7 and 10 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."

Kamada came off after 67 minutes during Sunday's 3-0 home defeat by Manchester City.

"It is how it looked when he walked off the pitch," said Glasner. "It's a serious hamstring injury, and he will be out for at least eight to 10 weeks.

"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."

Glasner, whose contract expires at the end of the season, says talks over a new deal are on hold because of the congested fixture list.

"When should I talk about my contract?" he said.

"And that's why we said, 'OK, let's push it backwards when we have time' because it's not between three meetings which take 10 minutes.

"We want to do it in a relaxed atmosphere, and right at the moment there is no relaxed atmosphere. That's why we pushed it back."