Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner has confirmed that captain Marc Guehi will start in Saturday lunchtime’s FA Cup third-round tie away against non-league side Macclesfield.
Guehi deserves all the plaudits that come his way for how professional he has been at Selhurst Park amid ongoing speculation about his future.
The 25-year-old saw a summer transfer to Liverpool collapse at the eleventh hour and he continues to be linked with a number of high-profile clubs having now entered the final six months of his Palace contract.
Manchester City – who has now confirmed the signing of Antoine Semenyo – are believed to be exploring a January move for Guehi and it is thought that Palace would consider selling the defender for the right price, as they are at risk of losing him for free in the summer.
The likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid are also said to be keeping tabs on Guehi, but it appears that Man City are the club pushing the most to recruit Guehi due to their injury troubles in defence.
Despite that, a proposed move to the Etihad is not close at this stage and Glasner said earlier this week that he believes Guehi will stay at Palace beyond this transfer window, though he is not 100% certain.
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Guehi to start, Richards available, Mateta to be rested in FA Cup
Guehi remains focused on Palace for the time being and Glasner revealed at his press conference on Friday that the defender “will start” as captain in Saturday’s cup clash with Macclesfield.
Palace’s No.6 was a key member of the squad that won last season’s FA Cup, with a 1-0 victory over Man City in the final at Wembley securing the club’s first major trophy in their 120-year professional history.
While Guehi will feature against sixth-tier outfit Macclesfield, Glasner has confirmed that Chris Richards is also available for selection after recovering from injury to watch on as an unused substitute in Palace’s 0-0 Premier League draw with Aston Villa on Wednesday.
However, top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta – who has 10 goals to his name this term – will not be involved in as Glasner has made the decision to rest the striker, while Daniel Munoz, Cheick Doucoure, Chadi Riad (all knee), Eddie Nketiah, Daichi Kamada (both thigh), Rio Cardines (muscle) and Caleb Kporha (back) all remain sidelined with injuries.
“No one is coming back (from injury). Chris [Richards] is back, but he was in the squad against Aston Villa,” said Glasner.
“JP [Mateta] will not travel with us. We’ll give him a rest, not playing on astro. We’ve talked about some issues with his knee.
“Everything’s under control but we don’t want to risk that he plays on astro and it gets worse, that’s why he stays in London.”
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Palace boss Glasner: “We want to win another trophy”
On defending their FA Cup crown, Glasner added: “We want to win another trophy. This is our approach. It’s not defending something, it’s winning something.
“We can’t defend it because we already have won it. This trophy will stay forever in Crystal Palace history books, but it’s adding another trophy – that’s how we enter the FA Cup.
“It’s not now talking about the final. This is the approach, how we enter every single competition: this is how we entered the EFL Cup. We lost in the quarter-finals. This is how we entered the Conference League. We’re in the knockout stage.
“This is how we enter the FA Cup, but we’re just talking about Macclesfield, about the game tomorrow and winning it, and then take it game by game.
“Of course, we want to extend the next FA Cup journey as long as possible, but I always say, don’t make the second step before the first one.
“The first one is now Macclesfield. As I mentioned, astro and non-league football. Maybe it’s their match of the decade, so this is what we have to accept.
“But on the other side, it’s clear: if we go there, we have to win there. It depends on us. It depends on our attitude. It depends on how we will play. And if we show our standards, we will win.
Saturday’s game between Palace and Macclesfield is the first meeting between the FA Cup holders and a non-league side since the 2004-05 campaign when Manchester United required a replay to eliminate Exeter City in the third round.