Preview: Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano - prediction, team news, lineups

Premier League and La Liga cross paths in the Conference League final for the second year running on Wednesday, as Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano collide in Leipzig with the third-tier trophy on the line.

The Eagles got the better of Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-finals to reach the championship match, while their opponents eliminated Strasbourg to move to within 90 minutes of a first major honour.

Match preview

No stranger to a slice of European stardom, having masterminded Eintracht Frankfurt's Europa League triumph over Rangers in the 2022 final, Glasner could now leave Crystal Palace on the highest of highs - at least in the tertiary sense.

The 51-year-old's relationship with the hierarchy has hardly been rosy over the past several months, but he is now just one match away from clinching a third major trophy in the space of 12 months after FA Cup and Community Shield success in 2025.

Despite making hard work of their progression to the knockout rounds - only placing 10th in the league phase - Palace have since showcased the strength of the Premier League alongside Arsenal and Aston Villa, as English clubs aim to take home all three European trophies for the first time ever.

Zrinjski Mostar, AEK Larnaca, Fiorentina and Shakhtar Donetsk have all fallen to the Eagles' superiority in the Conference League, where Palace's 25 goals - 14 of which have come in the knockout rounds - is also an unrivalled total.

However, Glasner's side failed to win any of their four top-flight matches succeeding their Shakhtar second-leg win, most recently going down 2-1 to champions Arsenal to finish the campaign in an unsightly 15th place in the Premier League table.

Foes Vallecano did not let their Conference League commitments distract them from making a European push in La Liga, but Inigo Perez's side fell just short in their efforts to crack the top seven, finishing one point behind Getafe in the Conference League playoff place.

As a result, victory in Leipzig is the only way that Rayo Vallecano will return to the continent next season, for what would be just their second appearance in the Europa League/UEFA Cup after the 2000-01 campaign.

Unlike Palace, Los Franjirrojos did not have to go through the rigmarole of a Conference League knockout round playoff thanks to their fifth-placed league-phase finish, but their last-16 and quarter-final triumphs were far nervier than they should have been.

On both occasions, Perez's men prevailed in the first leg before losing the second, but they found a backbone against Strasbourg in the semi-finals, earning 1-0 wins home and away to reach their first-ever European final.

Furthermore, a 3-1 quarter-final second-leg loss to AEK Athens represents Vallecano's most recent defeat in any competition; the La Liga outfit head to the Red Bull Arena on a nine-match unbeaten run, winning six of those battles.

Los Franjirrojos ended up on the correct end of a 2-1 scoreline on the final day in La Liga, edging out Deportivo Alaves thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Randy Nketa, setting them up nicely for the biggest night in their 101-year history.

Crystal Palace Conference League form:

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

Rayo Vallecano Conference League form:

Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):

Team News

Glasner's decision to bring Adam Wharton on at half time against Arsenal backfired, as the England international lasted just 16 minutes before being withdrawn with an ankle injury, albeit one that is not thought to be serious.

Wharton is thought to have a strong chance of being available for the final, but Chris Richards (ankle) and Borna Sosa (unspecified) are more serious doubts, while Cheick Doucoure (unspecified) and Eddie Nketiah (thigh) will not be involved.

The latter's absence should not prove fatal thanks to the devastating impact of Ismaila Sarr, who has scored in each of his last five Conference League appearances and tops the competition's scoring charts with nine goals to his name.

Rayo Vallecano suffered a final-day domestic blow too, as winger Carlos Martin was taken off after 38 minutes against Deportivo Alaves due to a back injury, rendering him doubtful for Wednesday.

Ilias Akhomach (quad) and Diego Mendez (unspecified) are in the same boat, while Luiz Felipe (muscle) is out for the season, but Isi Palazon is available amid a seven-game domestic ban.

Palazon has chipped in with three Conference League goals this term, one fewer than top continental scorer Alemao, who netted both goals across both semi-final legs with Strasbourg.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Riad, Lacroix, Canvot; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Pino

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:

Batalla; Ratiu, Mendy, Lejeune, Chavarria; Ciss, Valentin; De Frutos, Palazon, Espino; Alemao

We say: Crystal Palace 3-1 Rayo Vallecano

Vallecano may have closed out the domestic campaign in better form than Crystal Palace, but so often have Premier League teams simply proven a class above their continental counterparts in all three European competitions this season.

Led by Conference League specialist Sarr and 15-goal striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, Palace have our full backing to light up Leipzig and end the Glasner era with a flourish.

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