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Having been hosting continental fixtures in Poland due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Shakhtar Donetsk’s ‘home’ record is a little underwhelming.
The Miners only mustered four points in Kraków during the Conference League’s opening phase, before losing for a second time at the Henryk Reyman Stadium in their Round of 16 clash with Lech Poznań, who ironically played twice on native soil throughout the tie.
Shakhtar booked their place in the semi-finals thanks to an impressive victory over AZ Alkmaar, claiming a hard-fought 2-2 draw in the Netherlands following a comfortable first leg triumph.
Almost 17 years have passed since Shakhtar clinched the UEFA Cup, in what was the last edition of the competition ahead of its Europa League rebrand.
Given ongoing events back home, lifting the Conference League trophy would surely provide an even greater feeling of satisfaction for the 16-time Ukrainian champions.
However, Crystal Palace are dreaming of their own fairytale ending. The Eagles’ first foray into a major UEFA tournament has produced plenty of memorable moments, although it hasn’t always been plain sailing.
Having only managed to acquire ten points during the league phase, Oliver Glasner’s men had to navigate an additional round to progress to the last sixteen.
A couple of unconvincing performances against Bosnian minnows Zrinjski Mostar and Cypriot Cup holders AEK Larnaca then followed, but Palace were back to their scintillating best in this month’s quarter-final victory over Fiorentina.
Palace have already lost twice away in Europe this term, so merely avoiding defeat on Thursday would be considered a positive outcome.
Thursday’s contest in Kraków will be televised exclusively live on TNT Sports, although subscribers to the network can also catch the action on the HBO Max streaming platform.
Shakhtar Donetsk v Crystal Palace – Key information
Date: Thursday, 30th April
Kick-off time: 20:00 (BST)
Venue: Henryk Reyman Stadium
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Assistant Referees: Robert Kempter and Christian Dietz, Fourth Official: Sven Jablonski)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (Assistant VAR: Sören Storks)
TV Channels/Live stream: TNT Sports 2, HBO Max
Odds: Shakhtar Donetsk: 3/1, Draw: 12/5, Crystal Palace: 1/1
Odds provided by bet365
Shakhtar Donetsk team news
Following the return of several first-team players over the past fortnight, Arda Turan now has a full complement to choose from. The former Barcelona midfielder decided to adopt a 4-2-3-1 formation for the trip to FC Kudrivka at the weekend, but expect him to revert to his more familiar 4-1-4-1 system on Thursday evening.
Prior to Sunday’s 3-1 triumph at the Arena Lviv, Dmytro Kryskiv had missed each of his team’s previous nine fixtures across all competitions.
The versatile midfielder sustained a muscle issue in early March, but is now fit enough to be involved. Isaque Silva has recovered from the serious head knock he incurred during the first leg of Shakhtar’s Conference League quarter-final, which resulted in him temporarily losing consciousness.
The Brazilian maestro was back in action eleven days later, after concussion protocols ruled him out of the subsequent league match. With Oleh Ocheretko also returning to the fold following a brief absence, the Ukrainians are once again at maximum strength in the middle of the park.
Although he hasn’t found the net since early December, Kauã Elias is expected to lead the line. Turan’s alternative option in the centre-forward position is Burkina Faso international Lassina Traoré, who is also currently experiencing a goalscoring drought.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old winger Alisson Santana scored three times across the two clashes with AZ Alkmaar, bagging a brace in Poland before converting the opener at the AFAS Stadion.
Shakhtar Donetsk predicted line-up v Crystal Palace (4-1-4-1)
Coach: Arda Turan
Dmytro Riznyk (GK); Vinicius Tobias, Marlon, Mykola Matviyenko, Pedrinho; Yehor Nazaryna; Alisson, Oleh Ocheretko, Isaque Silva, Newerton; Kauã Elias
Crystal Palace team news
Although he doesn’t have any fresh injury concerns following Saturday’s disappointing 3-1 defeat to Liverpool, Oliver Glasner is still unable to call upon the services of Eddie Nketiah and Evann Guessand.
Ivorian international Guessand – who arrived at Selhurst Park in January on a short-term loan deal from Premier League rivals Aston Villa – developed a knee problem during Palace’s quarter-final first-leg meeting with Fiorentina, but is hoping to be available for selection within the next fortnight.
However, Nketiah is out for the remainder of the season. The former Arsenal forward pulled his hamstring during a routine training session earlier this month, putting a swift end to an already injury-ravaged campaign.
It seems as if Cheick Doucouré is also destined to remain on the sidelines for the run-in, despite featuring in a handful of Premier League 2 fixtures last month.
The Malian midfielder hasn’t made a first-team appearance for over fourteen months, after tearing his meniscus at the beginning of last year.
After a groin strain rendered him unavailable for the recent goalless draw with West Ham, Adam Wharton managed to play the full 90 minutes against Liverpool.
Nathaniel Clyne was an unused substitute at Anfield after contracting an illness earlier in the week, but has since reported a clean bill of health.
Crystal Palace predicted line-up v Shakhtar Donetsk (3-4-3)
Coach: Oliver Glasner
Dean Henderson (GK); Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Jaydee Canvot; Daniel Muñoz, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton, Tyrick Mitchell; Ismaïla Sarr, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Brennan Johnson
Where to watch on TV or live stream?
Having already provided live coverage of every single Conference League fixture this term, TNT Sports will also screen each leg of the two upcoming semi-finals and next month’s showpiece at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. However, Sky Sports are set to acquire broadcasting rights for both the Europa League and Conference League from the 2027/28 campaign onwards.
Customers can watch events at the Henryk Reyman Stadium unfold on TNT Sports 2, or tune into TNT Sports 1 if they want to follow the Europa League semi-final meeting between English duo Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
At the end of March, HBO Max replaced Discovery+ as the official streaming partner of TNT Sports. As both platforms are subsidiaries of the Warner Bros. enterprise, customers with a Discovery+ account can access HBO Max free of charge. To do this, they just need to enter their existing Discovery+ login details into the HBO Max app or website.
Head-to-Head record
As Crystal Palace’s only previous European experience ahead of the current season came via a short-lived Intertoto Cup venture, it’s perhaps unsurprising that these two teams never previously faced one another.
The South Londoners defeated a Ukrainian side in their maiden continental outing, beating two-time UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup champions Dynamo Kyiv at the Arena Lublin just under seven months ago.
Shakhtar Donetsk’s most recent meeting with an English opponent occurred during the initial stages of last season’s Champions League campaign.
The Donbas-based outfit lost narrowly to Arsenal thanks to an unfortunate own goal from goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk, who inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net after Gabriel Martinelli’s powerful effort bounced back off the post.
Shakhtar Donetsk v Crystal Palace – Match Result odds
Shakhtar Donetsk: 3/1 (bet365)
The odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change. All odds provided by bet365.