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 haven't had it easy.
After initially qualifying for the Europa League thanks to last season's victory at Wembley, Palace were relegated to UEFA's third-tier tournament for a breach of multi-club ownership rules.
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 securing Premier League safety was their priority 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. In the last four long-time Champions League participants Shakhtar Donetsk received the same treatment.
Rayo Vallecano's ascension to a first European final in their history is quite a story, with the provincial Madrid club the antithesis of modern club. They do not sell matchday tickets online, often have no running water at their training ground and their 14,000 capacity El Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas has only three stands.
Their rise was started by soon to be former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and has continued under his former assistant Iñigo Pérez
Rayo arrive in Leipzig 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 the South London's club's own recent league form, and an under appreciation of the weakness of the Spanish top flight.
Palace's form in the Conference League is all we should take notice of, and their run 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 him 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 Palace keeper 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)
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