Football betting tips: Europa League final
Joe Townsend
2.5pts Crystal Palace to win at 19/20 (Betfred)
1pt Ismaila Sarr to score anytime at 23/10 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
Jimmy 'The Punt' Cantrill
1pt Palace to win and Dean Henderson card at 18/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
*All bets in 90 minutes
CRYSTAL PALACE will aim to end Oliver Glasner's hugely successful two-year spell by winning their first European trophy just 12 months on from the Austrian delivering the club's only major honour when they shocked Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Palace have been preparing for this match for a while, with Glasner openly admitting that their domestic matches have been meaningless for months, rendering their seven-match winless streak to end the Premier League season totally irrelevant.
In the Conference League they have not had it easy.
Struggling with an injury-crisis early on, the Eagles failed to automatically qualify from their group meaning they had to play an extra play-off round. After scraping past Larnaca in the round of 16 at a time when they were having to prioritise securing Premier League safety they were handed tough draws in the quarter- and semi-finals.
Serie A club Fiorentina (runners-up in this competition in 2023 and '24) were dismantled 3-0 in the opening leg in the last eight, and in the last four long-time Champions League participants Shakhtar Donetsk received the same treatment.
Wednesday's opponents Rayo Vallecano arrive in superb form, unbeaten in nine matches and having lost only four times in 22 fixtures - two of those defeats were meaningless second-leg losses in this competition, and another was away to La Liga champions Barcelona.
That run makes it easy to see why the bookies are willing to price PALACE TO WIN at 19/20 but it feels like an overreaction to both the South London's club's own recent league form, and the weakness of the Spanish top flight.
Palace's form in the Conference League is all we should take notice of, and their run to Leipzig has been inspired by standout man ISMAILA SARR.
The Senegal forward has found the net 21 times in 44 games this term, with nine in 14 matches in Europe - including in all of his last five appearances, scoring six goals in total.
We should back TO SCORE ANYTIME at 23/10 and end both his season, and Glasner's reign, with the ultimate bang.
Score prediction: Crystal Palace 2-0 Rayo Vallecano
Sticking to the pro-CRYSTAL PALACE theme, I think it is worth coupling an Eagles WIN with DEAN HENDERSON TO BE CARDED at 18/1.
Coral and Ladbrokes are offering 10/1 for the stopper to be cautioned - which looks big considering other firms have gone as short as 7/2.
Henderson can certainly stake a claim to one of the Premier League’s masters of the dart-arts, alongside Jordan Pickford and Emi Martinez.
The Manchester United academy graduate has picked up 18 cards in his league career, 17 of which have come in the top flight (0.10 cards per 90) and he was carded during Palace’s FA Cup final win against Manchester City.
I’d imagine if his side do get their noses in front he will be pulling out all the stops to ensure the European trophy comes back to South London and referee Maurizio Mariani won’t stand for any of it.
The Italian has carded seven keepers across 27 appearances this term, including three in the nine European games he has overseen.
Score prediction: Crystal Palace 1-0 Rayo Vallecano
Odds correct at 17:30 BST (26/05/26)
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Home of This Week's Acca
- Football and other sports tips
- Download the Sporting Life app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.