Crystal Palace vs Fiorentina: Preview

Enjoy the ball, Goose, because that’s probably as much of it you’ll get in this one. | Photo by Mattia Ozbot - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

A suddenly almost vaguely competent Fiorentina hits the road, or rather the sky, for another midweek Conference League game, heading to south London to take on Crystal Palace. At the start of the season, these were probably the two favorites to win the whole thing. Both have rather slumped domestically, ranking 14th and 15th in their respective leagues, although the English side is at least comfortably mid-table rather than huffing and puffing to escape relegation.

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The match will be played on Thursday, 9 April 2026, at 20:00 GMT/3:00 PM EST, at Selhurst Park in London. The forecast calls for a crisp, gusty evening. Should be a perfect atmosphere, especially since the Eagles are reporting a sellout crowd, including 1250 Viola supporters making the trip; pending the result, this could be the final trip of the season, so hopefully everyone has a good time and behaves well.

Three things to watch for

1. Who plays?

After easing past Hellas Verona, Fiorentina has a finger on securing Serie A survival. Paolo Vanoli deserves so much credit for the work he’s done turning this bunch from utterly listless to moderately listful (even if he won’t get it). Outside of switching to a back 4 in December, his tweaks have been less about tactics and more more about emotional management, instilling his players with equal parts grinta and confidence.

For this one, though, he’s presented with a tricky situation. On the one hand, Fiorentina seems to be safe-ish in the league and can thus maybe spend more resources in Europe. Winning the next 5 games is the only chance the team has to qualify for continental competition; it’s unlikely but not outside the realm of possibility. If Vanoli can lead these bozos to a trophy, he’ll also cement his job in Florence for next season. On the other hand, relegation is far from unthinkable, especially if the team exhausts itself in Europe and slumps in Serie A.

Complicating matters is the delicate balance of health. Moise Kean’s been dealing with a shin/ankle issue all year, while Dodô, Niccolò Fortini, Rolando Mandragora, and Manor Solomon are all injury questions as well. Throw in Albert Guðmundsson’s 2-game suspension for a bantamweight slap fight with Tomáš Suslova on Sunday and there’s a very real threat of running the most important players into the ground here. The mister hasn’t been shy about fielding the backups in this competition so far but might be tempted to go for glory now.

2. Winning duels

Okay, this is low-hanging fruit, but bear with me. Palace is all about speedy transitions, whether that’s pressing high up or getting the ball forward quickly. Oliver Glasner is a stereotypically German coach in that regard and he’ll be very excited to attack Fiorentina’s extraordinarily shaky defense in those chaotic moments when possession is up for grabs, especially since the hosts have a raft of attackers who are absolutely rapid and can prove decisive, especially when given room.

To stop them, Fiorentina will need to win individual battles, particularly in space. Vanoli can hedge by keeping his defense deeper and ordering his players not press as high but Palace’s system is designed to create 1-v-1s and the Viola won’t be able to prevent those situations. Everyone knows that winning your duels means you’ll probably win the game but it’s doubly true in this sort of match. So much of that is about confidence but it’s also trusting in teammates and planning.

On the flip side, Palace’s full throttle approach will present Fiorentina with opportunities on the break. A packed Selhurst Park will urge the Eagles to push ever higher up the pitch and that means leaving space in behind for the likes of Kean. Yes, everyone in the Premier League is bigger and stronger than every other player on earth (and if you can’t hear my eyes rolling through the back of my head here, that’s on you) but the Moose is a handful for anyone. If his teammates can carve themselves out a bit of space to play that killer pass, the Viola will get a couple of decent looks.

3. Defending the wide areas

Glasner’s 3-4-3 reminds me a little bit of Gasperini’s setup: the wingbacks aren’t shy about getting into the box and the wingers excel at tucking in to combine with striker or drifting wide to overload the opposing fullback. Daniel Muñoz and Tyrick Mitchell have been one of the best wingback combos in the Premier League for the past couple years while Ismäila Sarr’s been superb as well. Evan Guessand, Yeremi Pino, Brennan Johnson, and Christantus Uche haven’t quite kicked on but have the quality to cause Fiorentina’s defense no shortage of problems.

Palace will look to build up through the middle more often than not with the centerbacks and midfielders knocking the ball around to attract the press before spraying it wide to take advantage of a stretched-out defense. Adam Wharton is particularly dangerous in this regard so keeping someone tight to him at all times is critical but Daichi Kamada and Jefferson Lerma are more than capable of picking apart a Viola defense that’s loosely-stitched at the best of times. Maintaining positional discipline is key.

To avoid getting run ragged and losing that discipline, the Viola have to win their battles (see previous item). Because Jean-Philippe Mateta is enormous and Palace gets bodies forward to support him, just packing the box and inviting crosses isn’t a solution. Fiorentina has to limit the supply, which means defending the wide areas proactively. The wingers will need to be diligent tracking back; Jack Harrison, Fabiano Parisi, and Solmon have all done well in that department but Guðmundsson hasn’t. That means the midfielders will likely be towed wide, opening cutbacks for the likes of Wharton on the edge of the box. If everyone stays connected, it’ll be fine, but Palace has the talent to instantly exploit any fissures that open up.

Possible lineups

Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department

Crystal Palace is, unsurprisingly, the heavy favorite here. That’s no surprise: the hosts have more talent, fewer injuries, are playing at home, and haven’t spent most of the year in the relegation places. Add in the fact that they’re fully rested after their game at Manchester City was postponed at the weekend and it’s pretty clear that everything, and I mean everything, favors the Eagles. I don’t bet and I don’t recommend betting but if I did, I’d put my rent money on blue and red. It’s not close.

Because I’m committed to the TMBGD bit, though, I’ll predict a shock 1-2 win for Fiorentina because, well, that’s the whole bit, isn’t it? I can’t imagine a situation in which the Eagles don’t outshoot their visitors by 4 to 1 and enjoy the vast majority of territory and possession but Kean’s pace in behind is real, maybe? Again, I don’t actually think this will happen. The only way it would is because narratively, the Viola grinding out a win here and then either collapsing at the Artemio Franchi (or even advancing to the final) is more painful/funny and if there’s one thing you can count on Fiorentina to do, it’s be funny/painful.

Forza Viola!

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