Crystal Palace’s European adventure reaches its biggest test yet – a Europa Conference League semi-final at Selhurst Park against Shakhtar Donetsk. Palace have earned their moment; now they have to handle the pressure of it.
Referee Alejandro Hernandez takes charge – he averages 5.79 yellows and 0.43 reds per game across 14 fixtures this season. One of the more card-happy officials in European competition. In a semi-final with physical stakes, that matters.
Predicted lineups were not yet published at time of writing – check the latest lineups on Statz closer to kickoff.
Crystal Palace: DDWWWLDLWL – W4 D3 L3 in their last 10, scoring 12 and conceding 11. Inconsistent in the league but the cup run tells a different story.
Shakhtar Donetsk: LWWDDWWWLW – W6 D2 L2 in their last 10, scoring 20 and conceding 12. In better form, and they score goals. Palace’s defensive record makes this a genuinely open tie.
Shakhtar sit 6th in the UECL table on 13 points (W4 D1 L1, GD +5) – a point ahead of Palace in 10th (W3 D1 L2, GD +5). Both sides have identical goal differences; Shakhtar have the edge in wins. Full projections: statz.ai/projections/team – Conference League.
Maxence Lacroix leads Palace for fouls committed over the last 10 (19, 1.90/game) – the highest foul rate of any player in either squad. With Hernandez officiating, that is a card waiting to happen.
Justin Devenny has averaged 3.8 tackles per game over his last five – a remarkable number for a midfielder, and 80% hit rate at 3+ tackles makes him a standout bet builder option.
Our Statz Bet Builder has a 3-leg SGP at 6.35 on bet365 – all three legs with 80% hit rates from the last five games:
Combined: 6.35/1 – Add to bet365 betslip
Shakhtar are the slight favourites on form and standings, but Palace have the crowd behind them and a cup run that suggests they can exceed their league form when the occasion demands it. The bet builder is built around the physical side of this game – Devenny’s tackle volume is the standout leg at 11/10. With a card-happy referee and two sides that both concede, this could be a spicy night at Selhurst.
Full stats and live odds: statz.ai/h2h/19683769