Crystal Palace travel to face Shelbourne
Seeking to boost their last-16 qualification hopes in the Conference League, Crystal Palace travel to Dublin to face Shelbourne at Tallaght Stadium.
Both the Eagles and the Reds are looking to return to winning ways in their penultimate League Phase fixture, after suffering defeat to Strasbourg and AZ Alkmaar respectively on matchday four.
Crystal Palace have kick-started a hectic December schedule in positive fashion as they celebrated back-to-back Premier League away win over Burnley and Fulham in the space of just four days, beating the latter 2-1 at Craven Cottage last Sunday.
Crystal Palace have blown hot and cold in the Conference League so far, though, alternating between victory and defeat in their opening four matches of their debut campaign in Europe. Palace subsequently sit 18th in the 36-team table, but only two points behind the top eight with games against Shelbourne and KuPS remaining.
The Eagles suffered defeat in their last European away match a fortnight ago, as they let a one-goal half-time lead slip to lose 2-1 against Strasbourg, with head coach Oliver Glasner left to rue his team’s missed opportunities – most notably hitting the post twice – in the final third.
Palace are currently the bookmakers’ favourites to win the Conference League this term and become the third English club to win the competition after fellow London sides West Ham United (2023) and Chelsea (2025), but Glasner will feel that his team can ill-afford to drop points against Shelbourne if they wish to edge closer to last-16 qualification.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Fiorentina contest against Dynamo Kiev at Stadio Artemio Franchi
Fiorentina are in free fall ahead of Thursday’s Conference League matchday five contest against Dynamo Kiev at Stadio Artemio Franchi.
The Viola have lost consecutive games in the competition, having won two to start the league phase and they enter the penultimate fixture in 17th place, 10 spots above their visitors, who are facing elimination.
Fiorentina supporters could be forgiven for thinking an upswing was in the offing when the club let go of the returning Stefano Pioli and appointed Paolo Vanoli.
Instead of a turnaround in results, more disappointment has followed, with the Violets winless under their new head coach after five games.
Despite sitting joint top of the third-tier European club competition after the opening two matchdays, Fiorentina could now drop out of participation altogether at the end of the six-match league phase.
This week’s visitors to Florence, like their hosts, have had a disappointing European campaign, with three defeats and one win in the first four matchdays.
Fiorentina are in need of maximum points to regain their winning momentum; however, they are likely to prioritise league results over success on the continent at this time.
It remains uncertain whether Dynamo will take advantage of Fiorentina’s struggles, but their current poor form suggests that the points could be shared, which would extend the Ukrainian team’s winless streak in this matchup.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Jagiellonia Bialystok and Rayo Vallecano
La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano will head to Poland for Thursday’s Conference League meeting with Jagiellonia Bialystok at the Stadion Miejski.
The home side head into the penultimate matchday in ninth spot, while Rayo are one point adrift in 12th place in the league phase.
Jagiellonia Bialystok may be just outside the automatic last-16 qualification positions, but they are level on eight points with three teams in the top eight of the league phase.
The Polish outfit kicked off the Conference League main draw with a narrow win over Hamrun Spartans, before they played out 1-1 away draws with Strasbourg and Shkendija.
A return to Poland coincided with a return to winning ways in the league phase, with Afimico Pululu’s effort proving enough to see off KuPS via a narrow 1-0 scoreline at the end of November.
Unfortunately for Adrian Siemieniec‘s side, they have followed that narrow victory with a three-game winless run, drawing 0-0 with Zaglebie Lubin before losing to GKS Katowice and Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza in the Polish Cup and Ekstraklasa, respectively.
With all three of those matches taking place away from home, Jagiellonia will be looking forward to returning to the familiar surroundings of the Stadion Miejski, where they have recorded six wins in their past seven competitive matches (L1).
The hosts can also draw inspiration from the fact that they are one of five teams yet to concede a goal at home in the league phase.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Aberdeen, Strasbourg set to clash at Pittodrie Stadium
Aberdeen and Strasbourg, two teams at opposite ends of the Conference League table, are set to clash at Pittodrie Stadium on Thursday night.
The hosts are 33rd in the table with just two points from four fixtures, while the visitors are second in the table with 10 points from four games.
Aberdeen kickstarted their campaign in disastrous fashion, winning just one of their opening 11 matches across all competitions – a 3-0 victory over lower league side Greenock Morton in the Scottish League Cup.
That miserable run included their elimination from the Europa League in the playoff round, losing 5-2 to FCSB, their elimination from the League Cup against Motherwell (1-0) in the quarter-finals, and their failure to win any of their first six league matches, with five defeats and one draw.
The Dons eventually ended that humiliating streak with back-to-back wins in the league against Dundee and St Mirren, but they quickly fell back to losing ways as they were defeated 6-0 by AEK Athens in the Conference League.
Two of those draws have come in the Conference League, against AEK Larnaca and Noah, meaning the Dons are still yet to win in the league phase.
Aberdeen will be significantly boosted by their recent upturn in form, while the visitors may be short on confidence given their disastrous three-game losing streak in Ligue 1.
However, Strasbourg are yet to be beaten in the Conference League and, with the Dons failing to record a win, this one will end all square.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
League Stage
Breidablik 17:45 Shamrock Rovers
Fiorentina 17:45 Dynamo Kyiv kick
Jagiellonia Białystok 17:45 Rayo Vallecano
Shkendija 17:45 Slovan Bratislava
Universitatea Craiova 17:45 Sparta Prague
Hamrun Spartans 20:00 Shakhtar Donetsk
Lincoln Red Imps 20:00 Sigma Olomouc
Raków Częstochowa 20:00 Zrinjski
