Preview: Dynamo Kiev vs Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Lublin Arena in Poland is the venue for Crystal Palace's first ever major European fixture against Dynamo Kiev in the Conference League on Thursday evening.

The Eagles soared to a last-gasp triumph over Premier League champions Liverpool last weekend, while the White-Blues have played out back-to-back draws in their last two Ukrainian top-flight games.

Match preview

Crystal Palace were left disappointed in August by UEFA’s decision to demote the club from the Europa League to the Conference League for breaching multi-club ownership rules, but the Eagles have moved swiftly on and are now in high spirits having put together an impressive unbeaten run.

Indeed, no team across Europe’s top-five leagues are currently enjoying a longer undefeated streak than Palace, who have not lost any of their last 18 Premier League matches (W8 D10) - their joint-longest unbeaten run as a Football League club - and most recently claimed a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Selhurst Park last Saturday.

Eddie Nketiah’s dramatic 97th-minute winner represents the latest winning goal scored by a Palace player in Premier League history and the Eagles currently sit third in the table as the only remaining English top-flight team who are yet to lose this season (W3 D3), conceding a joint league-low three goals in the process.

Oliver Glasner, who led Crystal Palace to a memorable FA Cup triumph last season before winning the Community Shield in August, is aiming to create more history with the South Londoners, and the Austrian coach knows what it takes to win on the continent having previously steered Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2021-22.

Crystal Palace beat Fredrikstad 1-0 on aggregate in the playoff round to qualify for the Conference League and they will relish the opportunity to test their mettle against a Dynamo Kiev outfit who have won three European trophies in their history: two UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups (1975 and 1986) and one UEFA Super Cup (1975).

The 17-time Ukrainian champions will compete in the Conference League for the first time this season after losing 4-1 on aggregate to Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Europa League playoffs in August, but like Palace, they are yet to suffer defeat on the domestic front this term.

Oleksandr Shovkovskyi’s side have begun the defence of their Ukrainian Premier League title by winning four and drawing three of their opening seven matches, but successive draws with Oleksandriya (2-2) and Karpaty Lviv (3-3) - sharing the spoils with the latter last weekend - has allowed Shakhtar Donetsk to climb to the top of the table by two points.

Dynamo Kiev will aim to make a strong start to their League Phase campaign in the Conference League after failing to make the desired impact in last season’s Europa League, crashing out at the first hurdle after losing six of their eight fixtures (W1 D1).

The White-Blues head into Thursday’s encounter with Crystal Palace having previously won only five of their 30 European meetings with English opposition (D9 L16), and they are preparing to face their first English side since suffering an 8-0 aggregate defeat to Chelsea in last 16 of the 2018-19 Europa League.

Dynamo Kiev form (all competitions):

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Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

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Team News

Dynamo Kiev defender Denys Popov has been sidelined since the beginning of August with a calf injury and remains unavailable for selection. Aliou Thiare or Taras Mykhavko could therefore start alongside Kristian Bilovar at centre-back.

Former West Ham United winger Andriy Yarmolenko, 35, is yet to score in 10 appearances so far this term, but he is in contention to feature on the right flank.

Nazar Voloshyn and captain Vitaliy Buyalskyi, who have scored a team-high four goals in all competitions, are both expected to be named in the first XI, with the former operating on the left side of attack and the latter playing in midfield.

As for Crystal Palace, they are still having to cope without injured trio Cheick Doucoure, Chadi Riad (both knee) and Caleb Kporha (back), while Thursday’s game is set to come too soon for goalkeeper Walter Benitez who has been recovering from a little finger dislocation.

Marc Guehi is expected to captain the Eagles in their maiden European fixture and he is set to link arms with Maxence Lacroix and Chris Richards in the back three, while Borna Sosa will push Tyrick Mitchell for a start at left wing-back.

Eddie Nketiah and new signing Christantus Uche will both be hoping to force his way into the first XI, but Jean Philippe-Mateta is more likely to lead the line from the start, while Justin Devenny is set to battle with Ismaila Sarr and Yeremy Pino for a start in an advanced role behind the central striker.

Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:

Neshcheret; Karavayev, Bilovar, Mykhavko, Dubinchak; Pikhalyonok, Mykhaylenko, Buyalskyi; Yarmolenko, Guerrero, Voloshyn

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Sosa; Devenny, Pino; Mateta

We say: Dynamo Kiev 0-1 Crystal Palace

A closely-contested battle between two teams keen to make a notable impression on matchday one could be in store on Thursday, but in-form Crystal Palace will be regarded as slight favourites as we have faith in the Premier League side’s quality to shine through as Glasner’s men celebrate their first European win.

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