- Four Crystal Palace stars must avoid bookings
- Card happy referee in charge
- How Eagles approach Fiorentina second leg
Crystal Palace travel to Florence for the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final on Thursday (April 16th).
With a 3-0 lead established in the first leg last week, a mastery in game management is required from Oliver Glasner’s men if they are to reach a first-ever European semi-final in club history.
Palace managed to avoid any suspensions for this game; four Palace players are currently one booking away from missing the first leg of the next round, should Palace make it there.
Treading the line
Jaydee Canvot, Adam Wharton, Chris Richards and Maxence Lacroix are all one booking away from suspension, which would come into action in the first leg of the semi-final.
By the next round, accumulated bookings no longer result in suspension, so it is vital that all four are able to finish Thursday’s game without a booking.
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano, from Spain, averages a very high 5.08 yellow cards per game and averages a red card once every four games. He is a feisty character who irked Frenkie de Jong earlier this season.
The Barcelona midfielder explained Manzano’s approach:
“What I do want to say is that (with the referee) you can’t even talk to him. I’m the captain and I don’t get it. He looks at me like he says, ‘I’m above you.’ It’s frustrating. You can’t behave like that.”
Whilst it is important Palace compete well and assert dominance as they did at Selhurst Park, Glasner will need to encourage his players to avoid unnecessary drama, which could lead to silly bookings.
The job was almost done in the first leg, but Palace missed a handful of opportunities to really kill the tie off.
Job Done and Depart
Fiorentina will be hoping for a remontada of sorts, but out of the two sides, the only ones involved in a somewhat dramatic fightback were the Italians. In their play-off round against Jagiellonia, Fiorentina almost blew a 3-0 lead at home, conceding four goals but managing to squeeze through to the knockouts.
Palace made light work of La Viola in the first leg, and faced little threat from them, Dean Henderson making just two saves, after Paolo Vanoli’s men generated just 0.45 expected goals.
The mission is a simple one for Palace, and Glasner’s experience of managing sides in cup competitions, successfully with that, should see him mastermind his side towards a potential matchup with either Shakhtar Donetsk or AZ Alkmaar.
Shakhtar too hold a 3-0 lead, as do Rayo Vallecano on the opposite side of the draw. The semi-finals are looking to take shape, with three teams leading 3-0, and Mainz currently 2-0 ahead of Strasbourg.
Palace need to win the Conference League. It’s the epitome of their season. A confident display on Thursday, avoiding any potential suspensions for the next round, is going to be vital.
