Crystal Palace
Palace have won two, lost two and drawn one of their last five in all competitions.
Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar Donetsk are unbeaten in their last three Ukrainian Premier League matches and top their domestic table on 60 points after 25 games .
Head-to-Head
- Ismaïla Sarr scored the fastest goal in UEFA Conference League history after 21 seconds when Palace secured a 3-1 away win in last Thursday’s first leg of their semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk.
- The Eagles lead 3-1 on aggregate, and this second leg will decide whether Oliver Glasner’s team reach their first European final or if Donetsk can pull off another comeback on the continent.
- Palace and Shakhtar have contrasting styles that should clash in interesting ways during the 90 minutes in England.
- The Ukrainians like to play with pace and tempo in a fluid 4-2-3-1, whereas Glasner has instilled a pressing system with a base shape of 3-4-2-1 that can convert to a compact 5-4-1 when they are out of possession.
- Shakhtar’s game is to press and attack quickly in transition, using the wide areas to overload Palace’s flanks and creating chances in behind the backline.
Shakhtar Donetsk
- Pedrinho and Artem Bondarenko provide Shakhtar’s creativity, which will need to be on display on Thursday to break down Palace’s structure.
- Kauã Elias and Eguinaldo are the main attacking outlets, with the former among the club’s leading scorers in Europe.
- Jørgen Strand Larsen is another good shout to make the difference in this game as he has come off the bench to score crucial goals in this season’s competition, including a late strike in Kraków last month.
- He is also a target man and can hold the ball up, which will be important if Palace are going to shut the game down.
Crystal Palace
- The Eagles have thrived off the ball in transition and have had a knack of being in the right place to put the game away in this competition.
- Daichi Kamada has been the hub of Palace’s creativity, organizing set pieces and creating second ball opportunities, while he scored a crucial goal in the first leg.
- Ismaïla Sarr is their most consistent threat in this tournament, as his pace makes him a constant threat on the break, and he scored the record-breaking opener in the first leg.
Betting Insights
- With 1.57 odds, Palace are the clear favourites to make club history by booking their place in the UEFA Conference League final in Leipzig, while Shakhtar are massive 6.09 outsiders to pull off the impossible and the draw is 4.33.
- We’re taking the favourites to advance with a wager on ‘Under 2.5 goals’ at 2.05, as Shakhtar need to chase the goal, leaving themselves open to counter-attacks.
- Glasner’s tactical adjustments and the team’s pressing game have seen them overcome opponents with superior individual quality this season, but Shakhtar have a point to prove after a damaging 3-1 home defeat to Palace.
- With a two-goal cushion, the hosts should not need to push too hard, and their ability to structure up in a low block should frustrate Shakhtar’s direct runners.
- Dmytro Riznyk made a crucial double-save in the first leg and will need to be in form again to keep Shakhtar in the tie at Selhurst Park.
Prediction
But we don’t see them getting the better of Palace in this clash, as their defensive lapses were exposed in the reverse fixture by the pace of Sarr.
