Crystal Palace's busy festive fixture schedule continues when Southampton come to Selhurst Park on Sunday, 29th December (15:00 GMT).
And immediately following Palace's 0-0 draw against Bournemouth on Boxing Day, manager Oliver Glasner fielded a range of questions to preview the visit of the Saints to SE25 – including on how quickly preparations for the game could begin!
You can read the manager's key pre-Southampton quotes below...
On 21st December, Ivan Jurić was named Southampton’s new manager, starting off his reign with a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United on Boxing Day.
I know him from Italy, and he did very well there. I think he was always playing with a back three, and Southampton also played with the back three. But also, to be honest, I don't know at the moment his style of play, and I also think it's not possible to implement your style of play when you’ve started two or three days before.
Two days is just recovery, not really a lot of impact to the players. Of course we will watch the [Southampton] game from today, but I didn't see it before now!
I have a great team of analysts. I’ve just focused on Bournemouth and what our players needed today. You prepare the meeting, what do you tell them, how do you support them, getting the belief and the confidence to win here.
Of course my staff have already watched many games from Southampton, and I'm pretty sure they will also have watched today's game. Now I have a three-hour travel home, and it can easily be that one of the analysts is sitting next to me and showing me some clips.
Then especially tomorrow, after the recovery, training, we will watch them, analyse them, and we have to take care of our chances and our opportunities.
After going five games unbeaten away, Palace now face a run of three home matches in a row: Southampton, Chelsea and Stockport County.
We always prepare the same way to win the game. Of course, a clean sheet helps, because then you just need to score one.
I think we scored very often at home, but we conceded too many. This is what we have to reduce. The best way would be to start against Southampton.
Chris [Richards] did excellent when we arrived last year. Then he was at the tournament [the Copa America] with the USA, a disappointing tournament at home.
He did well and then he got injured, because he had a very short break. But Chris knows how we want to play. He's experienced enough. He knows the Premier League, and then sometimes you are a little bit unlucky as a player, when you are out because of an injury, and the others are doing really well.
This is what happened. The others did really well in the defensive style, formation, and then you have to wait for your chance. But Chris is working hard in training, showing me and showing us that he's ready to help the team and play. That's why I have full confidence in him.
Tyrick Mitchell made his 150th Premier League appearance in the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth.
I think also today, T defended really well against [Antoine] Semenyo. That’s not that easy. I think Semenyo had one header in the second-half and not a finish from open play, and that’s difficult. He also defended the crosses quite well.
I think this is the biggest potential T still has: the in-possession game, the solutions in possession. Not just the crosses, because when he's there, he's quite good. He had a great assist at Brighton, he had good passes in the box.
But until entering the final third, I think he can be involved more and he can have quicker solutions. This is what we're working on daily with him. He's very consistent, he's always available. He's always playing on a really high level.
I think this is what we have to accept: T will never be a Dani Muñoz, because he's just different. Dani has this natural skill, this attacking way, this running and always being there.
T comes more from the defending part. I think he's already improved in his attacking game, but again, he still has potential within this. But he's very, very consistent in defending.
You can have very attacking wing-backs, but then you need maybe more defensive No. 6s. When you have one more defending wing-back, you can have maybe one more attacking No. 6s. But we also have from the natural behaviour of our No. 6s, there are more No. 6s than 8s or 10s.
The only one is Daichi Kamada. He scored from his position at Villa in the Carabao [Cup]. Therefore, we encourage him to be a little bit more attacking, and also to create more situations. But I think it's the same. He's progressing, he's trying to improve. He has, I don't know, one or two assists. I think he can have more finishes himself. But still, a long season to go.
Of course it's unusual [to have so many games at this time of year], but I never complained. As soon as I signed here, I knew what would come.
I told my family it would be Christmas. Very often, when you work in Germany, you're off for one week, ten days, but I also didn't go home. Then we'd always go somewhere in the south, enjoying warm weather.
This time, it's different, but it's a good experience. I chose this life, nobody to blame! Also, when I arrived, playing the first time here at Bournemouth, I remember the weather. The rain was coming sideways, windy and everything. Therefore, today was really lovely weather!
If it's not over Christmas, it's in January or it’s in December. Somewhere, we need to play 38 games in the league, whenever it is. Here, many years ago, the Premier League decided to play over Christmas because the fans love it.
We are entertainers. Everything we do, we do for our fans. I think it would be easy – if the fans wouldn't watch the games, I think the Premier League would change the days of playing. But everybody loves it, and we are the entertainers.
We have to play, we have to work. You learn when you are in football, you always learn, the schedule tells you what you have to do. Nobody asked me if my children had a birthday – when they had a game, you have a game.
My oldest son was born in January. Until he was 18, I never was at home when he had a birthday!
