- Two fixture changes confirmed for Palace
- Potential of busy final week
- Opportunity to impact the title race
After beating Fiorentina 4-2 on aggregate, Crystal Palace are facing a very busy end to the 2025/26 season. Two fixture changes have been made due to the Conference League semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk, as Palace continue to avoid Saturday football.
There is mounting concern surrounding the timing of Palace’s game in hand against Manchester City, which still doesn’t have a confirmed date as the governing bodies continue to navigate Palace’s European participation.
Fixture congestion could force sacrifices
Both of Palace’s Premier League fixtures against Bournemouth and Everton, which were both scheduled for the weekends after each semi-final leg, have been moved to the Sundays after each midweek fixture, meaning Palace will play four games in just eleven days.
Chris Richards recently revealed that Palace were not prioritising either the Premier League or Conference League, but instead aiming for success in both.
The routine of Thursday-Sunday football is one that Palace have slowly adjusted to. At the beginning of their maiden European campaign, Palace failed to win a single game following a midweek fixture until recently, when Glasner and the players have seemingly settled and adjusted to the intensity and demands that European football provides.
Therefore, the calendar for the semi-finals are not too concerning, but the fixtures that may follow should Palace beat Shakhtar become unpredictable. As things stand, Palace’s game in hand against title challengers Manchester City does not yet have a confirmed date.
Palace are also in action against league leaders Arsenal on the final day of the Premier League season, and therefore may have a huge impact on how the title is decided. What will be more of a concern for the Palace fans is that the game will be played just three days before the Europa Conference League final in Leipzig.
Of course at this point Palace are not yet in the Final, but qualification for that game would potentially cause a selection headache for Oliver Glasner.
Glasner not one for meaningless change
Throughout his time in South London Glasner has always played the strongest team available to him, and his comments in his most recent press conference suggest that approach won’t change.
“You need to be 100% fit to compete in the Premier League,” Glasner said ahead of Monday’s clash with West Ham United.
“As soon as we have a feeling a player is just 95%, another one will play and now we have better depth in the squad. At the moment we don’t have a lot of injuries so this gives us the opportunity to make more changes if necessary.”
This may disappoint some West Ham fans, who were hoping that after the players were allowed to join fans in Florence after their progression, Palace may be somewhat jaded.
It appears that will not be the case, and Palace will in fact be looking to register another Premier League win after last weekend’s late beating of Newcastle.
