Conference League
2025-12-11 - Shelbourne vs Crystal Palace
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Conference League
Thursday 11th December 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Shelbourne
Merely reaching the League Phase of any European competition has to be seen as a success for Shelbourne, but the standard of the Conference League looks to be proving to be too much for them to handle. They have far from disgraced themselves in the opening four matches in the League Phase, but Shelbourne have struggled to turn performances into results and elimination looks increasingly likely.
The side are down in 34th place in the Conference League standings and Shelbourne have only been able to earn a single point through four matches played. Last season 7 points were needed to avoid elimination and that means the pressure is on Shelbourne to upset a club from the English Premier League on Match Day 5.
Shelbourne play in Ireland where the League runs through the summer and that means the only recent competitive action has been in the Conference League. They have lost consecutive games against Drita and AZ Alkmaar without scoring a goal and Shelbourne are hosting Conference League ties outside of their usual home.
Crystal Palace
The next three weeks are going to be hugely challenging for Crystal Palace as they are victims of their own success- playing in the Conference League means the League Cup Quarter Final tie has to be played a couple of days before Christmas and the squad is not going to be having much time to rest and recover between fixtures.
Oliver Glasner and his group should be given a lot of respect for refusing to allow the build of games become an excuse for a drop in standard and all will be keen to win out in the Conference League and hope that is enough to avoid having an extra Knock Out tie to play in February. The Eagles are a disappointing 18th in the Conference League standings with 6 points on the board, but 12 points was enough for a top eight finish last season and Crystal Palace have two matches left in the League Phase.
Crystal Palace have beaten Burnley and Fulham away from home in the last few days after losing consecutive fixtures against Strasbourg and Manchester United. Those wins at Turf Moor and Craven Cottage means Crystal Palace have won 4 of the last 5 away games in all competitions with the sole exception being a defeat in the Conference League at Strasbourg at the end of November.
Daniel Munoz is set to miss out with the hope he is available for selection against Manchester City on Sunday. Ismaila Sarr is considered a long-shot, while Oliver Glasner will choose to make one or two rotations to keep his squad fresh for a tough schedule coming up.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive fixture between these clubs.
Prediction
Failing to finish in the top eight in the Conference League would be a blow for Crystal Palace in so far as having to play an extra couple of games in February. With a squad that is already having to negotiate plenty of football, Oliver Glasner would love to avoid that Knock Out tie and that means needing his Crystal Palace team to win the remaining two League Phase fixtures.
Doing that may be enough to sneak into the top eight and Crystal Palace should be able to exert their qualities over the remaining two opponents.
They have suffered a couple of disappointing results in the League Phase, which should refocus the players, and it is key to have the right intensity in the matches to come.
First up is a fixture against a Shelbourne team that have only picked up a single point in the four matches played in this Conference League Group. Respect has to be given to Shelbourne for only conceding four goals in this section, but they have yet to score one themselves and Crystal Palace should be able to largely contain the threats.
At some point you would expect the Crystal Palace attackers to find a way to goal and backing the visiting team to win with a clean sheet is perhaps a bigger price than expected.
The Pick :
Shelbourne 0-2 Crystal Palace
