Conference League
2026-05-27 - Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Conference League Final
Wednesday 27th May 2026 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Crystal Palace
The Premier League season came to a conclusion on Sunday, but the thoughts of Crystal Palace Football Club have long been focused on the Conference League. Being able to win a major trophy in consecutive seasons would be a huge achievement for Oliver Glasner and for the entire Club and it would mean Crystal Palace having another crack at European Football next season.
Reports suggest Liverpool may be ready to hold onto Arne Slot and that may make Crystal Palace favourites to appoint Andoni Iraola to replace Oliver Glasner, but that is a story for another day. In Leipzig, the only focus for the fans and the players is going to be on winning the Conference League and Crystal Palace have looked to be getting stronger as we have reached the business end of the competition.
Crystal Palace's home defeat to Arsenal means they ended the Premier League campaign winless in 7 games, but during that time they put their strongest performances together in the Conference League. The Eagles beat Shakhtar Donetsk twice in the Semi Final of this competition and that means Crystal Palace have won 3 of the 4 fixtures played since the Last 16 victory in Extra Time.
Adam Wharton suffered a knock on Sunday, which is going to be something that the Crystal Palace fans will be hoping will not keep him out of the Final. Both Chris Richards and Borna Sosa are also facing a race against time to be passed fit.
Rayo Vallecano
Only 10 points separated 7th placed Getafe from 19th placed Girona in a competitive Spanish Primera Division and that meant a number of clubs would have been concerned about relegation up until late in the season. One of those was Rayo Vallecano, but they put together a run of form that saw them miss out on returning to the Conference League by a single point.
They were managing domestic and European commitments all season for the first time in the history of the club having surpassed the previous run, which ended in the UEFA Cup Quarter Final back in 2001. Finishing in the top eight of the Conference League standings meant avoiding the Play Off Round and Rayo Vallecano won 4 of the 6 Knock Out ties played, including both Semi Final matches against Strasbourg.
Rayo Vallecano needed a goal in Athens to avoid being pushed into Extra Time, but the 3-1 defeat in the Greek capital is the last time they have suffered defeat, which covers a run of 9 games in all competitions. Most impressive is the fact that the side have won 6 of those matches and it should give them plenty of belief.
Carlos Martin picked up an injury in the last fixture, which leaves him doubtful. There a couple of others who will also need to be tested before the team travels for the Conference League Final.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive meeting between the clubs.
Prediction
For the second season in a row, England plays Spain in the Conference League Final and some members of the UEFA organisation may feel this third competition has not opened the door to teams from outside of the big European Leagues as much as they would have hoped.
Only one team from each nation is allowed to take part, but there is plenty of money in those Leagues compared with many others around Europe and that has ultimately been a factor.
English Premier League clubs have thrived more than most and a win for Crystal Palace would mean three of five Conference League trophies have been won by clubs from that nation, including all being from London.
You have to agree that Crystal Palace are right to be favourites, but this does feel like it could be more competitive than Chelsea's win over Real Betis.
Unlike Chelsea, this feels a more natural level for a Club like Crystal Palace and the same likely applies to Rayo Vallecano, who missed out on a return to the Conference League by a single point domestically.
Despite that, Rayo Vallecano have been able to extend the unbeaten run to 9 games in all competitions and this is a group who have been able to win plenty of games in the Conference League.
However, it is Crystal Palace who may believe they have come through the tougher side of the bracket and Oliver Glasner's team have continued to play as hard as possible for the outgoing manager.
It is understandable to have Crystal Palace down as odds on favourites to win in ninety minutes, but Rayo Vallecano are not to be underestimated.
They have not been the most convincing at the back, but the Spanish club have come forward with real confidence and that can give them confidence against a Crystal Palace team that have had 3 clean sheets in 8 Knock Out ties in this competition. All of those were earned at Selhurst Park too, which cannot be ignored, but it is the quality of the Crystal Palace attackers and perhaps the greater options coming from the bench that makes the Premier League club favourites.
The Rayo Vallecano Semi Final matches did not have too many goals, but in the main this is a club involved in high-scoring fixtures throughout this Conference League run.
More recent fixtures have been the same for Crystal Palace and the two previous Conference League Finals involving English clubs have both finished with at least three goals shared out.
Finals can sometimes become gritty affairs and an early goal is likely need to just free up the players to express themselves.
One of these two teams could provide a first half opener on Wednesday and it may help this Final reach at least three goals shared out between the two sets of squads looking to cement their place in Club history.
The Pick :
Crystal Palace 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
