Preview: Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk - prediction, team news, lineups

Crystal Palace play host to Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday night looking to secure their place in the Conference League final.

After a 3-1 victory in the first leg of their semi-final last week, Palace are looking to progress through to a European final for the first time in their history.

Match preview

Although Palace can still achieve European qualification for next season through the Premier League, it has become evident that Oliver Glasner is starting to prioritise this competition.

The Austrian selected a strong side for last week's first-leg success, with Ismaila Sarr, Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen all getting on the scoresheet.

Sarr's early effort was his eighth in this season's Conference League, making him the joint-top goalscorer in the competition.

Palace will now attempt to record a fourth successive Selhurst Park clean sheet in the knockout phase, the most recent coming in a 3-0 victory over Fiorentina in the last eight.

Nevertheless, the London outfit have lost three of their last five games in all competitions, including the 3-0 reverse at Bournemouth on Sunday.

As for Shakhtar, they have recorded six wins and two defeats from their most recent nine matches in all competitions, their only reverse coming versus Palace.

On Sunday, Arda Turan's side recorded a 2-1 victory at Dynamo Kiev to move 10 points clear at the top of the Ukrainian top-flight table.

After last season's third-placed finish, their campaign stands to be a major success, but there will be frustration having given Palace a sizeable advantage in the tie when attempting to win their first European trophy since the 2008-09 UEFA Cup.

When his side are trailing by a two-goal margin, Turan will be concerned that Shakhtar have only kept one clean sheet in their last seven matches.

Shakhtar have also not defeated English opposition since overcoming Manchester City by a 2-1 scoreline in the 2017-18 Champions League.

Crystal Palace Conference League form:

W D W W L W

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

W L D L W L

Shakhtar Donetsk Conference League form:

D W L W D L

Shakhtar Donetsk form (all competitions):

D W W W L W

Team News

Glasner could revert back to the Palace XI that started the first leg, with the likes of Adam Wharton, Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta in line for recalls.

Chris Richards and Tyrick Mitchell should also return in defensive areas. Chadi Riad, Jefferson Lerma, Justin Devenny, Brennan Johnson and Strand Larsen could be the five players to drop out.

Cheick Doucoure, Evann Guessand and Eddie Nketiah will all remain on the sidelines.

Lucas Ferreira and Lassina Traore are both pushing for opportunities in the Shakhtar final third after scoring the goals that beat Dynamo Kiev on Sunday.

However, having rested some of his key players at the weekend, Turan could still select the same team from the first leg.

Centre-back Marlon suffered an injury in the Dynamo Kiev fixture and is a major doubt for the visitors.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

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

Shakhtar Donetsk possible starting lineup:

Riznyk; Tobias, Bondar, Matvienko, Henrique; Ocheretko, Gomes, Pedrinho; Alisson, Elias, Eguinaldo

We say: Crystal Palace 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (Crystal Palace to win 5-2 on aggregate)

Although Shakhtar are in a position where they can throw caution to the wind, very few teams travel to Selhurst Park and come away with a two-goal victory. While there will inevitably be some nervy moments for the Eagles, we are backing them to come through one of the biggest matches in their history.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.