Fiorentina vs Crystal Palace: Eagles One Step From First European Semi-Final in Club History

Can Palace Extend Impressive Run of Form in Florence? 

Crystal Palace head to Italy tonight with a solid 3-0 advantage after confirming our Conference League predictions with an impressive display at Selhurst Park in the first leg last week. If they can finish the job tonight, a meeting against either AZ Alkmaar or Shakhtar Donetsk awaits in the next round.

The Eagles have endured a turbulent 10 months. After celebrating winning their first major trophy by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup, they were controversially removed from the Europa League over complications linked to multi-club ownership regulations. 

Since then, Oliver Glasner’s side have battled and powered their way through the UECL and now find themselves on the brink of even greater history. Goals from Tyrick Mitchell, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta have transformed what could have been a tense tie into one the South Londoners can approach with real confidence. 

Palace have been on an impressive run of form in the lead-up to this crucial fixture. They pulled off a stunning late comeback last weekend to beat Newcastle United 2-1 at home and are now unbeaten in six, while having lost only one of their last 10 matches across all competitions. 

See our Fiorentina vs. Crystal Palace prediction

Vanoli Rallies Fiorentina Ahead of UECL Second Leg 

After their heavy defeat in the English capital last week, La Viola now faces a daunting task at the Stadio Franchi. Still, Paolo Vanoli has urged his players to embrace belief and take risks tonight, rather than be weighed down by the pressure of the situation. In the pre-match press conference, he said: 

Vanoli also revealed that the team’s primary objective for the remainder of the season is not European progression but Serie A survival. Indeed, Fiorentina have endured a very poor domestic campaign and have spent the majority of it in the relegation battle. 

However, things have started to look up for them recently. As mentioned in our Fiorentina vs Crystal Palace prediction, La Viola battled valiantly to secure a 1-0 victory over Lazio at the weekend, a result that saw them move eight points clear of the drop zone, thanks to Cremonese and Lecce both suffering defeats on Matchday 32. 

The momentum has been clear, as the Florence-based club have now collected an impressive 18 points across the last nine Matchdays in Serie A. Only league leaders Inter Milan and defending champions Napoli have picked up more points during this period (20 points each). 

Fiorentina vs. Crustal Palace: Recent results

Fiorentina

Crystal Palace

Check out our UECL predictions

Player Focus: Jean-Philippe Mateta 

After his move to AC Milan fell through at the 11th hour during the summer transfer window, many wondered if Jean-Philippe Mateta would ever play for Crystal Palace again, especially after the reaction he received from his home fans upon returning to action against AEK Larnaca in the last round. 

During Palace’s victory at Selhurst Park in the first leg of this tie, the Frenchman delivered a timely reminder of his value, tucking away a composed spot-kick beyond David de Gea to set the tone for a convincing win and put his side in a strong position heading into the away leg.

Just 72 hours later came the clash against the Magpies. Introduced off the bench with 25 minutes to play and with his side a goal down, Mateta transformed the game, bagging a late brace, including the winner in stoppage time, to send the Selhurst faithful into raptures.

The 28-year-old striker has now converted all eight of his Premier League penalties, with only Raul Jimenez (14), Yaya Toure (11) and Dimitar Berbatov (nine) boasting longer perfect streaks from the spot in the competition’s history. 

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