Given that the Eagles are only 270 minutes away from adding Conference League gold to their FA Cup and Community Shield victories from 2025, Crystal Palace may be showcasing three bright new pieces of hardware in just a single year.
The Eagles set up an exciting semi-final matchup with Shakhtar Donetsk after Oliver Glasner’s team had mostly finished the job against Fiorentina prior to the second leg of their quarterfinal, when a 2-1 loss was immaterial due to their 3-0 first-leg victory.
Since mid-table mediocrity is the most likely Premier League result, Palace should firmly prioritize European stardom in what is left of the year, refusing to disintegrate after the exits of Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, and Marc Guehi. Glasner will soon join that ever-growing list.
Monday’s hosts started game week 33 in an unimpressive 13th place in the Premier League standings. Despite not being mathematically safe from the drop zone, they were still in the running for a spot in Europe thanks to their top-flight standing and the games they were playing against teams in their immediate vicinity.
With their 2-1 victory over Newcastle United last weekend, the Eagles now have seven points out of the last nine available. They have also won all six of their previous games at Selhurst Park across all competitions, giving up just one goal in the process.
When it comes to winning the Conference League, Palace would be wise to follow West Ham’s lead, but the Irons’ current aspirations are far from replicating the achievements of 2022–2023.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s cellar fighters are currently pursuing more modest goals, merely trying to pull themselves away from the threat of demotion, which they did, at least temporarily, against the Portuguese’s former employers two Fridays ago.
The Irons start the weekend two points ahead of the 18th-place Lilywhites after Santo orchestrated a brutal 4-0 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers to help propel the Hammers out of the relegation zone at Tottenham Hotspur’s cost.
After winning just one of their first 11 games in 2025–2026, West Ham has now won four of their past seven away games across all competitions. The battering of Wolves ended a three-game losing streak for West Ham.
The Eagles have never before defeated West Ham in three straight Premier League games, but Glasner’s team answered with back-to-back wins at the London Stadium in January and September 2025. The Irons also defeated Palace 2-0 in this exact encounter last season.
