Crystal Palace host Polish side Lech Poznań in their opening fixture of the 2026/27 Europa League, here's everything you need to know about tonight's visitors.
Pierre Sage and Crystal Palace will look to make things right after the last minute loss at home to Ipswich in the Premier League on Saturday when they host Polish side Lech Poznań in the Europa League.
Palace’s first appearance in this competition will bring pressure after the disappointment that the start of the season has come with. Despite Palace playing some good football at points during the opening four games of the campaign, the results haven’t been good enough, winning just one Premier League game so far.
Now, they turn their attention to Europa League football for the first time in the club’s history, but what can Palace fans expect from Thursday night’s opponents.
Who are Lech Poznań?
Poznań are one of Poland’s most historic and successful clubs, playing in the country’s top division, the Ekstraklasa.
Founded in 1922, they are nicknamed ‘Kolejorz’, which translates to The Railwayman, a reference to the club’s history and ties to the Polish railway system.
Their home ground is the Stadion Poznań, with a capacity of over 40,000, used in Euro 2012.
Poznań have won the Ekstraklasa nine times in total, most recently last season. They’ve won numerous Polish Cups too, with legendary striker Robert Lewandowski playing for the side in 2009 when they lifted the trophy for a fifth time.
In recent seasons, the title has been shared by a number of Polish clubs, but Poznań had their own spells of dominance too, winning three of four titles between 1990 and 1993, as well as being regular league winners between 2009-2015.
Kolejorz have been regular participants in UEFA competitions since the 1940s, with their best modern run coming in 2022-23, when they reached the quarter finals of the Europa Conference League, beating Bodø/Glimt along the way before losing to Fiorentina across two legs.
As previously mentioned, Robert Lewandowski is their most notable academy graduate who played for the club before his move to Borussia Dortmund.
The other notable players include Piort Reiss whose contribution saw the number nine shirt retired, Teodor Anioła, the club’s all-time top scorer with 141 goals, and Hieronim Barczak, the player with the most appearances with 435.
What to expect from the opponent?
Poznań are now managed by 55-year-old Danish coach Niels Frederiksen. They’re currently third in the Ekstraklasa after seven games, winning five whilst drawing and losing once.
They come into this game off the back of defeat at the hands of Górnik Zabrze, the side currently top of the Ekstraklasa with seven wins in eight games.
Before that 2-1 defeat away from home, Lech won three games on the bounce. They qualified for the Europa League after beating Swiss side FC Thun 7-0 in the first leg, and drawing the second game 2-2, qualifying with an aggregate scoreline of 9-2 in Lech’s favour.
Under Frederiksen, Lech play a structured 4-2-3-1, with two holding midfielders sweeping ahead of the back four, and a classic number ten roaming in the space behind the striker and wide players.
They favour attacking in transitions, with heavy emphasis on the wingers. Lech looks to switch play quickly when winning possession, and are a threat from set pieces too.
In terms of players to look out for, former Hull City forward Allahyar Sayyadmanesh stands out, scoring a brace in Lech’s qualifying round against Thun.
Former Lecce youth player, Spanish attacking midfielder Pablo Rodríguez is also a player to keep an eye out for.
Predicted XI
For Palace’s lineup, there could be a shake up once again as Sage continues to assess the options available to him. Whilst Jean-Philippe Mateta has been getting back to fitness and is still unavailable, Ismaïla Sarr is set to feature in some aspect, and the same can be hoped for Cheick Doucouré.
Dean Henderson remains out injured despite his new contract, and Jaydee Canvot will be hoping to be included after Sage excluded him from the squad that lost to Ipswich.
Our expected XI contains some players that need to get back to form as well as some rotation ahead of Leeds United this Sunday.
W.Benítez, Ó.Mingueza, T.Tomiyasu, J.Canvot, H.Ahanor, B.Chilwell, W.Hughes, A.Wharton, I.Sarr, J.Strand Larsen, Y.Pino.
