LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates during the Premier League match between Fulham and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on December 07, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Crystal Palace is looking to secure automatic qualification for the UEFA Conference League Round of 16 by hosting Finnish champions KuPS Kuopio at Selhurst Park on Thursday night.
Oliver Glasner’s team is currently ninth in the league standings and is just one point away from the top eight spots that guarantee advancement to the next round. A win could likely ensure their progress, depending on goal difference.
KuPS is fighting to stay in the competition, sitting at 25th in the table. They need a win to keep their hopes alive for the knockout playoff round. However, they come into this match after failing to score in their last two European games.
Oliver Glasner will use “two completely different teams” for this match and the Premier League game against Leeds United two days later. This rotation is to ensure player health during a busy festive period. Daichi Kamada is unavailable for eight to 10 weeks due to a hamstring injury, and Daniel Muñoz, Cheick Doucouré, and Chadi Riad are also out.
Head coach Jarkko Wiss is expected to select his strongest available lineup as his team seeks a crucial victory. Goalkeeper Johannes Kreidl will be protected by defenders Ibrahim Cissé and Samuli Miettinen. Jaakko Oksanen, who leads the team with three goals in the competition, will be pivotal in midfield. Piotr Parzyszek is likely to be the main striker.
Palace improved their qualification chances with a solid 3-0 away win against Shelbourne last week, bringing them to nine points. However, their home performance has been lacking, as they are winless in three matches at Selhurst Park (1 draw, 2 losses) and have not scored in two of those games.
The Finnish champions began their European journey positively but have struggled lately. They’ve gone scoreless in their last two matches, losing to Jagiellonia Białystok and drawing with Lausanne. Their away form in Europe is also worrying, as they have not scored in seven of their last eight European away matches.
Crystal Palace predicted XI: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi; Clyne, Wharton, Hughes, Sosa; Sarr, Pino; Nketiah
KuPS predicted XI: Kreidl; Hämäläinen, Cissé, Miettinen, Antwi; Voutilainen, Arifi, Oksanen; Touré, Parzyszek, Pennanen
The match will be shown live in the UK on TNT Sports 1, with coverage beginning at 7:30 pm GMT.
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