Tonight’s Europa Conference League play-off first-leg between Zrinjski Mostar and Crystal Palace will be the first time the two clubs have ever faced one another. Oliver Glasner’s side makes the trip to Bosnia with the expectation of coming away with a win.
It’s been a tough season thus far for the Eagles after the thrilling FA Cup-winning 2024-25 campaign. His side has faltered, sitting 13th in the Premier League and not faring much better on their European debut.
Crystal Palace finished 10th in the Europa Conference League table, missing out on automatic progress to the last 16. It means the English club must get past Mostar to meet either Bundesliga side Mainz or Cyprus outfit AEK Larnaca in the first knockout round.
Glasner makes four demands
A 3-2 loss to Burnley last weekend means Palace come into tonight’s game licking their wounds. They squandered a two-nil lead to lose against Scott Parker’s relegation battlers.
Mostar were also beaten in the Bosnian league, suffering a 3-0 loss to FK Borac Banja Luka on Saturday. While the Eagles will be expected to beat Igor Stimac’s side, any game in Europe can be difficult, especially away from home.
Glasner spoke ahead of the match at Bijeli Brijeg Stadium and insisted his side will be playing to win. The Austrian told reporters (via the club’s official website):
“Whether it’s in the Europa League or the Champions League, playing two legs, it’s always going there to go to win the game. Then, you see how the game is going. But I don’t like to enter the pitch and say a draw is fine, because then it’s always a little bit passive.”
Glasner then made four demands of his team, who ended the league phase with three wins and two defeats:
“We want to play football. We want to score goals. We want to attack. But of course it’s always important to have a good balance and structure in the game, and this is what we want to show tomorrow.”
Crystal Palace were one of the favourites to win the Conference League ahead of their first European campaign. Glasner was adamant that his side wants to get as “far as possible” and that training went well for his troops.
Glasner gives injury update
This will be Palace’s first Conference League game without Marc Guehi, following his move to Manchester City last month. It will be interesting to see how the Eagles fare, as Glasner has three players absent due to injury.
Jean-Philippe Mateta failed a medical ahead of a proposed switch to AC Milan on deadline day. The French striker is recovering from a knee injury but doesn’t require surgery.
Glasner gave an update on Mateta as well as Jefferson Lerma and Eddie Nketiah. He told reporters:
“Jeff Lerma had to go off against Burnley. He has a hamstring injury. We’re expecting to miss him for about three weeks. Eddie Nketiah had a setback and we will miss him for a few more weeks. We don’t know exactly how long. JP Mateta is now in his rehab process. I hope he will be back in the next two or three weeks.”
Jorgen Strand Larsen will likely continue to lead the line in Mateta’s absence. The Norweigan frontman arrived at Selhurst Park last month from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a £48m deal.
The 26-year-old bagged his first two goals for the club in the 3-2 defeat to Burnley. He’ll be hoping to kick on and make the number nine position his own ahead of Mateta’s return.
Glasner on what he expects from Mostar
The Austrian appears to have done his research on Mostar, who sit second in the Bosnian league. They finished 23rd in the Conference League table, taking seven points from six games.
Stimac’s men were well beaten on the weekend, but Glasner felt the 3-0 scoreline didn’t tell the full story. He said:
“I watched their full game against FK Borac Banja Luka on Saturday. I think game was closer than the result. They had a disallowed goal, and it would have been a 1-1.”
Glasner revealed he has a connection to two of their players:
“They like to play football. Good players. There are two players who played for my club where I was playing for 18 years, SV Ried: Stefano Surdanovic and Leo Mikic.”
He added:
“They tried to build up the game. We don’t know exactly if they’ll play with a back four or a back five: in the Conference League, they played sometimes with a back five. In the league, normally with a back four.
Palace will be eager to put in a performance that helps them reclaim their status as one of the Conference League favourites. The second leg between the two sides takes place at Selhurst Park next Thursday (February 26th).
