Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano meet in the UEFA Conference League Final on Wednesday 27 May 2026 at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, with the winner lifting the trophy and earning a place in the 2026/27 Europa League group stage. It's the first major European final for either club, both only into their second European campaign and for Palace it doubles as Oliver Glasner's farewell, the Austrian leaving at the season's end having already delivered the 2024/25 FA Cup.
Glasner and Rayo's Iñigo Pérez have never faced each other as managers. Glasner brings genuine European pedigree from Eintracht Frankfurt's 2022 Europa League triumph, while Pérez has developed a pressing side built around high turnovers and quick transitions since arriving at Rayo in February 2024.
Palace arrive in patchy form (LDLDWL) after a 2-1 Premier League defeat to Arsenal on 24 May, whereas Rayo come in with considerably more momentum (WWDDWW) after a 2-1 La Liga win over Alavés to close out their domestic campaign. Palace carry no suspensions but have fitness concerns over Adam Wharton's ankle, Chris Richards' ankle ligaments and Borna Sosa, with Eddie Nketiah and Cheick Doucouré both sidelined long term. Rayo's main doubt is Ilias Akhomach, who picked up an issue in the semi final warm up, while Álvaro García returns to the squad and Luiz Felipe is ruled out for the season. Glasner is expected to deploy a 3-4-2-1 with Dean Henderson in goal behind Nathaniel Clyne, Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Muñoz, while Rayo set up with Stole Batalla supported by Andrei Rațiu, Florian Lejeune and Alfonso Espino Chavarría at the back.
Glasner's Palace want to control possession and punish set pieces, whereas Rayo under Pérez press high and look to force turnovers and hit teams quickly on the counter. The standout individual duel is Ismaïla Sarr's pace against Rayo's full-backs and Rayo's attacking quartet of Álvaro García, Isi Palazón, Jorge de Frutos and Alemão will demand Lacroix, Mitchell and Muñoz defend in space repeatedly, something the backline has not always been comfortable doing. Whether Wharton or Daichi Kamada anchors Palace's midfield could be significant given how aggressively Óscar Valentín and Unai López press to reclaim possession.
With the clubs never having met at senior level, Palace's delivery from dead balls may prove one of the sharper edges on the night, with Palace having scored repeatedly from set pieces in this competition while Rayo have been caught from them at points during this campaign.
Rayo's collective press is exactly the kind of thing that disrupts possession based teams who need time on the ball to function and it sits in direct tension with Palace's delivery from dead balls as the most likely route to a decisive moment. A first major European final for both clubs, with a Europa League place on the line, feels like a game decided by a moment rather than a pattern, which is why penalties are a real possibility.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
