PREVIEW: Crystal Palace look to Conference League for salvation in visit to Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar | OneFootball

Crystal Palace hope to give their fans something to cheer about as they travel to Bosnia in the first leg of their Conference League play-offs against Zrinjski Mostar.

Zrinjski are 2nd in the Bosnian Premier League currently and are four points behind league leaders Borac having played 21 games, drawing four losing four and winning 13, sneaking into the round of 16 play-offs on the final gameweek of the group stage curtesy of their 1-1 draw with Austrian side Rapid Wien.

Crystal Palace could more than do with a good result right now, despite beating their rivals Brighton and Hove Albion in the M23 derby the Eagles somehow blew a two-goal lead before half time against second bottom placed Burnley.

The clarets scored three goals in under 10 minutes to quickly dowse any confidence Palace had after their victory over Brighton. The Eagles don’t sit massively in danger of relegation this season however with all the chaos occurring off the pitch with the likes of Glasner and Jean Philip-Mateta nothing can be ruled out at the moment.

Before their clash with Brighton, Palace had last beaten Shelbourne in the Conference League at the end of November and missed out on a chance to automatically qualify for the next round in the top eight after a draw with KuPS left them two points behind AEK Larnaca in eighth place.

Much like Nottingham Forest last campaign, it’s been a difficult task balancing a respectable finish in the Premier League with their European ambitions.

Mostar are a big name in the region thanks to their nine BPL titles three Bosnian cups, yet their domestic success hasn’t been replicated on the continental stage, however, as they have only ever played in the finals of a European competition once, exiting at the group stage in 2023/24.

That draw saw the Bosnians leapfrog more established sides such as Dynamo Kyiv and Legia Warsaw and set up a tie with Premier League side Palace in what could be the most crucial match in the side’s history in Europe.

Now the January transfer window is out of the way, the two sides have had the chance to bulk up their European squads and Zrinjski have done just that.

The Bosnian side have added Adi Nalic, Tin Sajko and Toni Majic to their roster, which could provide the much needed boost that they need to cause a huge upset in this tie.

As for Palace, Oliver Glasner has had a turbulent season given the sale of captain Marc Guehi and the failed transfer of main striker Jean Philip-Mateta, in what he announced to be his final year at Palace.

The Austrian has add to contend with multiple injuries too, but appears to be out of the woods on that front for the time being as midfielder Cheick Docoure and striker Eddie Nketiah are the only absentees through injury.

Sriker Christian Uche – who scored a highly impressive goal in their draw with KuPS – has been removed from the side’s European squad to be replaced by deadline day signing Jorgen Strand-Larsen.

Palace will be hoping his goals could help them go deep into the Europa Conference League this season, however much their squad may have changed.