The predicted list, where you can watch and Glasner with confidence in the camp
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has warned his players to take it easy as they look to eliminate Shakhtar Donetsk and secure a place in the Conference League final.
Palace will enter the second leg at Selhurst Park tomorrow night with a 3-1 lead in the first match played in Poland due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
They are favorites to advance to the conference final against Strasbourg or Rayo Vallecano but Glasner knows the job is far from over, especially as Shakhtar dominated for long periods of the first leg but Palace were ruthless when their chances came.
He said: “We could see how good Shakhtar are, the players are fast, they drive well.
“At Selhurst we know we will have amazing support from our fans.
“I told the players the best thing is that we know what to do. We don’t need to change much. It’s a matter of playing at our best level.”
Glasner has already announced that he will leave Palace at the end of the season and his last game in charge could be his last in Leipzig on May 27.
He went on to say: “If I don’t enjoy a game like the one tomorrow it would be a wrong job for me, we like to be involved, if you lose this excitement it will be a clear sign of retirement.”
“I told the players today that I’m really excited to be part of this amazing team. What they’ve done for Crystal Palace is amazing. I can’t say it enough.”
Palace had one eye on the game at the weekend when a much-changed side were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Shakhtar did not have the same splendour, having to play a strong team that beat Dynamo Kiev to put them on the brink of claiming the Ukrainian title.
Their Turkish coach Arda Turan is adamant that they will go all out in South London in an attempt to advance.
The former Barcelona player said: “There is no quit in my dictionary – we will do our best in the second leg and let’s see what happens.
Midfielder Marlon Gomes added: “We can’t give up, we have to improve some details and put hope in our hearts, if we can do that we will get opportunities.
Crystal Palace v Shakhtar Donetsk team news
The likes of Adam Wharton, Ismaila Sarr, Chris Richards and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who were all left out at the weekend, will return. Will Hughes is back in the squad after illness but Borna Sosa, Evans Guessand remain out, along with Eddie Nketiah and Cheick Doucouré.
Shakhtar could be without defender Marlon Santos.
Crystal Palace v Shakhtar Donetsk predicted lineup
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Canvot; Muñoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino, Mateta
Shakhtar Donetsk: Riznyk; Tobias, Bondar, Matviyenko, Pedro Henrique; Ocheretko; Alisson Santana, Pedrinho, Marlon Gomes, Newertton; Come on Elias
Where to watch Crystal Palace v Shakhtar Donetsk: TV and online streams
Crystal Palace take on Shakhtar Donetsk at 8pm UK time on Thursday night. Available on TNT Sports in the UK and available to stream via the discovery+ app.
It is available through local Conference League rights holders in other countries, including the United States.
Crystal Palace v Shakhtar Donetsk statistics
- Crystal Palace’s only previous game against the Ukrainian side before the first leg was their 2-0 win against Dynamo Kiev on Matchday 1 in the league stage of the season.
- Shakhtar have won just five of their 20 matches against English opponents
- Shakhtar have never won in England, where their record is D2 L8
- This is Palace’s second season in UEFA competition and their first since their 1998 Intertoto Cup campaign, where they lost 0-4 on aggregate to Samsunspor in the third round.
