Crystal Palace return to European action as they travel to Fiorentina for the Conference League quarter-final second leg in Florence. The Eagles have a 3-0 lead going into the second leg and must now finish the job off to book a spot in the final four.
Crystal Palace have returned following the long international break with a pep in their step and now they have a trip to Italy to take care of.
The Eagles defeated Fiorentina 3-0 in the Conference League quarter-final first leg to all but secure their place in the semi-finals.
After a dramatic comeback win over Newcastle at Selhurst Park on Sunday, they now have the opportunity to continue their momentum and finish the job off in the Conference League before they welcome West Ham to south London on Monday.
The job seems simple, Palace can afford to lose by two goals and still advance but Oliver Glasner will be acutely aware of the excellent form his side has been in this month and he will want to keep it up.
Form Guide
As already mentioned, Palace have returned following a three-week hiatus in incredible form, winning their two most recent matches.
Before the break too, Palace had won three and drawn one of their previous six, while Will Osula’s goal for Newcastle was the first Palace had conceded at home since February.
Crystal Palace have enjoyed an excellent period following the international break.Fiorentina have stabilised in Serie A after initially appearing to be facing relegation, going unbeaten in their last five matches, including a 1-0 win over the in-form Lazio.
The last time Fiorentina lost on home soil was in the Conference League, slipping to a 4-2 loss against Jagiellonia Bialystok in the play-off, losing 3-0 in normal time before finding a way to advance 5-4 on aggregate.
Previous Meetings
Palace have faced Fiorentina just twice, defeating them 3-0 a week ago and drawing their other clash.
That came in May 1973, when Palace drew 2-2 with Fiorentina in Florence in the Anglo-Italian Cup.
Team News
Palace have only the injury to Evan Guessand to add to their relatively small injury pile.
He has a knee issue and is expected to be out for the rest of the season.
Other than that, there are no new injuries to contend with, and Oliver Glasner rotated the attack and midfield against Newcastle so I would anticipate it will be largely the same team as that of the first leg.
The two long-term injuries the Palace squad does have are to Eddie Nketiah and Cheick Doucoure and neither of them are close to a return.
Predicted XI
Crystal Palace: (3-4-2-1): Henderson (c); Canvot, Lacroix, Richards; Mitchell, Wharton, Kamada, Munoz; Pino, Sarr; Mateta
Odds
The full-time result odds suggest a tight game, with Fiorentina 17/10 to win the match and Palace 7/4, with a draw being 11/5.
To qualify, though, understandably, you won’t get much back for a Palace win, with the Eagles 1/50 to advance to the semi-final and Fiorentina 18/1.
What did Oliver Glasner say?
"I don't think that anyone has this mindset [thinking the tie is won].
"One thing we tried to implement when we arrived more than two years ago is to create the mindset that we always show our standard, regardless of which team we are playing, regardless of if we play at home or we play away.
"We've shown this also in the Conference League, that we can be very strong in away games.
"We've shown this in many Premier League games and also tomorrow, our approach is always the same: we are here to win the game, we are not here to defend anything, we are here to win.
"For me, it makes it easy because it's the same in every single game."