Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner plans to rotate against Macclesfield - European Football

Oliver Glasner plans to rotate as Crystal Palace begin their FA Cup defence against National League North outfit Macclesfield.

The Austrian coach has typically steered away from ringing in the changes, but has been forced to tinker with his XI this season – most notably against KuPS – as Palace juggle domestic and European football.

Palace made few changes en route to winning the FA Cup last season. Whereas against non-league Macclesfield, at least one academy prospect is expected to start for the Eagles.

Frontman Jean-Philippe Mateta has not travelled to the North West, with Palace unwilling to risk playing him on astroturf while juggling a minor knee injury.

As Glasner plots changes, the Palace boss confirmed he would still name a strong side at Moss Rose – featuring England internationals Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton, plus Nations League winner Yeremy Pino.

“We’ll have a little bit of rotation,” Glasner said. “Marc will start, Adam will start and Yeremy Pino will start.

“Many who played in the last games will start. But we need to rotate a little bit because we have to accept the schedule and we have a responsibility to not get injured players again.

“Many young players will travel with us and one or two will start. No one is coming back from injury. Chris is back but he was in the squad against Villa.

“JP won’t travel with us, we give him a rest not playing on astro, all others are fine. He has some issues with his knee, everything under control, but we don’t want to risk him on astro.”

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta (Image: Nathaniel Hutchinson)

Palace’s Premier League 2 season resumes on Saturday after their mid-season break.

Joél Drakes-Thomas, Dean Benamar, George King, Benji Casey and Kaden Rodney have filled the gaps in the first-team squad while their season has been on pause.

The initial plan was to send the academy talents back to the Under-21s to ensure they continue to get minutes for their development.

However, with Palace’s schedule now offering full training weeks until mid-February, the youngsters will remain with the first-team squad as they need the bodies for matches in training, but can also offer the high-intensity sessions required for their development.

Meanwhile, first-team centre-back Chadi Riad, who has been sidelined for a year with a knee injury, is expected to play 45 minutes for the Under-21s against Chelsea tomorrow as he ramps up his recovery.

“We have to value balance because we have three days off after Macclesfield, then we will meet on Wednesday and it’s the first time we’ll have real tactical training, 11 vs. 11.

“If we want that, we need six from our 21s. We have 12 first-team players going to Macclesfield. JP and Jefferson Lerma return, which means we have 14 players.

“If we want tactical training, we need six. At least six academy players will train with us.

“Chadi Riad will play 45 minutes tomorrow for our Under 21s, so we have 15, meaning five or six from the academy train with us. Otherwise, we can’t provide what we need from the team.

Crystal Palace defender Chadi Riad (Image: Keith Gillard)

“It’s pretty sure we don’t go to games with 15 players, so there will be a few in the matchday squads. This is the situation.

“We will keep a few. The players are doing well. It’s also good for them to train on a very high level, then there will be a time when they get game minutes with the Under-21s.”

Back-up right wing-back Rio Cardines has been sidelined since November with a muscle injury, but is back on grass with Glasner hoping he can return to team training in February.

Eddie Nketiah remains unavailable due to a hamstring injury, with Glasner unwilling to commit to a return timeline.

“It could have been that he is back soon, now it looks maybe a bit longer,” said Glasner. “It wouldn’t be right if I say something and it doesn’t hold.”

Predicted XI: Benitez; Guehi, Lacroix, Canvot; Sosa, Wharton, Devenny, Drakes-Thomas; Pino, Uche, Johnson.