Crystal Palace
- Palace have won three and lost two of their last five matches in all competitions.
- Crystal Palace have put themselves in a strong position in the UEFA Conference League following an excellent start to the campaign, and they arrive into Thursday’s key group stage encounter with KuPS Palloseura with nine points from their opening five matches.
- The Eagles sit in ninth place in the Conference League 2025-2026 standings, and they are pushing for knockout phase qualification.
- Oliver Glasner’s side are in slightly worrying form after back-to-back defeats at home, including a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Premier League leaders Manchester City.
- The hosts have conceded an average of 1.00 goals per home game in the UEFA Conference League this season.
- Palace are a vertical team who like to play transition-heavy soccer, with their wing-backs bombing forward and a high press which allows them to dominate the ball when they regain possession.
- Glasner has implemented his high-intensity, 3-4-2-1 system, and Palace have been a thrilling watch in Europe as a result.
KuPS
- KuPS have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five games.
- The Finns have had an impressive start to the season by Finnish standards, but have only managed to pick up six points from their five games in the Conference League, putting them 25th in the same table.
- KuPS, meanwhile, are a team who are patient and like to keep the ball, often sitting deep in a compact block to soak up pressure before attempting to build up from the back and release the team with a wave of pressing.
- Jarkko Wiss has implemented a structured system at the Finnish side since taking over in January 2025, but the results have only just started to come in for the side.
Key Players
- Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise provide the creativity for Palace, while England international Edward Nketiah is their danger man up top.
- The former Arsenal man has scored twice in four games in the Conference League, and he will likely be the main outlet for Palace to unlock the KuPS defence.
- KuPS have a solid foundation for their defence in the engine room of Diogo Tomas, and the width of Axel Vidjeskog is an important part of their build-up.
- But Clinton Antwi leads the line for the Finns and has scored once in five appearances in the Conference League.
Betting Insights
- They are the heavy favorites to win the game here at 1.13, making the draw at 8.0 look like a great bet, while KuPS are clear outsiders.
- BTTS looks a bit of a push at 1.67, but with KuPS failing to score in their last two away games, the bet that offers value is Palace to win to nil.
Prediction
Considering the gap in quality between these two sides, the home field advantage and the fact that KuPS have struggled on the road in this competition, a comfortable Palace win looks the most likely outcome.
