Crystal Palace
The victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg is Crystal Palace’s only win in their last five matches. Their Premier League ambitions are no longer as strong, with the gap to the top seven now at eight points. At Selhurst Park, however, the team have been excellent: they have not lost there in the league since the first half of February.
The heavy 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth did not fully reflect what happened on the pitch. The opponents created only a modest advantage in xG, 1.31 to 0.89, so Palace’s rotated side had enough volume to stay closer in the scoreline.
• Crystal Palace are unbeaten in seven straight home matches. During that run, they have conceded only one goal.
• The London club have accumulated 31.55 xG in 17 Premier League home matches. Among teams in the bottom half of the table, only Leeds United (32.60) and Newcastle United (38.99) have a higher figure.
• Ismaïla Sarr, one of Crystal Palace’s attacking leaders, is close to finishing as the top scorer of the UEFA Conference League. He has eight goals, the same as Mikael Ishak and Marius Mouandilmadji, whose teams have already been eliminated.
Probable Crystal Palace line-up (3-4-3): Dean Henderson; Jaydee Canvot, Maxence Lacroix, Chris Richards; Tyrick Mitchell, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton, Daniel Muñoz; Yeremy Pino, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Ismaïla Sarr.
Absentees: Eddie Nketiah, Evann Guessand and Cheick Doucouré, all injured.
Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar Donetsk also have no major domestic objectives left. They have already secured the league title, and at the weekend they beat Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 in the derby.
A week ago in Kraków, Shakhtar allowed Crystal Palace to generate 2.20 xGA, even though they controlled much of the tempo: 16-10 in shots and 71% to 29% in possession. Still, their lack of experience proved costly. The Ukrainian side have found it difficult to cope with stronger opponents who are used to a much higher level of competition in their domestic leagues.
• Shakhtar have conceded in each of their last six away matches.
• They have conceded seven goals in five UEFA Conference League matches in 2026.
• Eight of their nine matches since the March international break have gone over 2.5 goals.
Probable Shakhtar Donetsk line-up (4-1-4-1): Dmytro Riznyk; Pedro Henrique, Mykola Matviyenko, Valeriy Bondar, Vinicius Tobias; Oleh Ocheretko; Eguinaldo, Marlon Gomes, Pedrinho, Alisson Santana; Kauã Elias.
Absentees: Marlon Santos and Yukhym Konoplia, both injured.
