Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano LIVE: Conference League final match stream, latest score and goal updates | OneFootball

Eagles bidding to end Oliver Glasner’s tenure with first European trophy success in Leipzig

The Conference League final takes centre stage tonight as Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano go head to head for glory in Leipzig. It is a first appearance in a major European showpiece for both clubs, with the Eagles hoping to end Oliver Glasner’s remarkable tenure with another trophy to add to the FA Cup and Community Shield they have already claimed during a fairytale 12 months.

Palace ended the Premier League season down in 15th place amid a seven-match winless run, though have long since had their main focus on this competition after brushing aside the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk and Fiorentina in the knockout stages. They are now favourites to overcome a Rayo team who are preparing for their first top-level final of any description as they continue to defy the odds under Inigo Perez, finishing eighth in LaLiga for the second successive campaign despite a tiny budget while overcoming Strasbourg in the last four of the Conference League.

Adam Wharton is fit to start for Palace tonight after limping out of Sunday’s Premier League finale against Arsenal with an ankle injury, with Chris Richards on the bench. Follow the Conference League final live below!

Live updates

26 seconds ago

Rayo Vallecano in first-ever major final

Rayo’s passionate fans are certainly no shrinking violets either when it comes to bringing the noise.

They are more than up for the club’s first-ever major final of any description.

For all the inevitable focus on Crystal Palace tonight, what a stunning achievement it would be for LaLiga’s underdogs to bring home a European trophy.

Particularly when you consider their budget and oft-derided facilities.

Getty

Getty

12 minutes ago

Crystal Palace fans bringing the noise

Crystal Palace fans are already making quite a noise inside the Red Bull Arena with less than half an hour to go now until kick-off in the Conference League final.

There can’t be a fancy dress shop anywhere near south London with any remaining Eagle-related costumes or masks to sell...

PA

Getty

PA

25 minutes ago

Selhurst Park filling up for live final screening

Standard Sport’s Sam Tabuteau at Selhurst Park

It is starting to fill up here at Selhurst Park.

More than 10,000 supporters are expected tonight to watch a live screening of Palace in their first European final and the atmosphere is building.

Palace fans young and old are in attendance, with more history potentially beckoning for the Eagles.

29 minutes ago

Garcia preferred to Pacha for Rayo Vallecano

Rayo Vallecano boss Inigo Perez makes nine changes to the team that won 2-1 away at Alaves on the last day of the LaLiga campaign to secure another impressive eighth-place finish, having rotated even more heavily than opposite number Oliver Glasner in preparation for this showpiece.

Captain Oscar Valentin and forward Alvaro Garcia are the only players to retain their places.

Otherwise it’s one change to the Rayo team that beat Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg 1-0 in France in the semi-final second leg to wrap up a 2-0 aggregate victory, with Garcia preferred to Pacha Espino.

There is no Carlos Martin or Diego Mendez in the squad, though Isi Palazon is back amid his domestic suspension and Ilias Akhomach makes the bench.

39 minutes ago

Rayo Vallecano team

Rayo Vallecano XI: Batalla, Ratiu, Ciss, Lejeune, Chavarria, Lopez, Valentin, Palazon, De Frutos, Alemao, Garcia

Subs: Cardenas, Molina, Pedro, Trejo, Camello, Akhomach, Gumbau, Balliu, Pacha, Mendy

44 minutes ago

Wharton starts for Crystal Palace with Richards on bench

So the big news for Crystal Palace is obviously that, as expected, Adam Wharton has quickly shaken off that ankle injury suffered against Arsenal on Sunday to start in Leipzig.

Chris Richards is also fit, as is Borna Sosa, but that duo both begin as substitutes this evening.

Maxence Lacroix, Jaydee Canvot, Tyrick Mitchell, Yeremy Pino and Jean-Philippe Mateta all return to Oliver Glasner’s starting XI after he rotated heavily for the final game of the Premier League season with this final in mind.

Chadi Riad for Richards in the back three is the only change from the Conference League semi-final second-leg win over Shakhtar Donetsk at Selhurst Park on May 7.

PA

59 minutes ago

Crystal Palace team

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Riad, Lacroix, Canvot, Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Sarr, Pino, Mateta

Subs: Matthews, Benitez, Clyne, Lerma, Richards, Sosa, Cardines, Hughes, Devenny, Johnson, Guessand, Strand Larsen

1 hour ago

Crystal Palace eyeing Europa League spot after demotion controversy

Speaking of the Europa League, that of course was the competition that Crystal Palace qualified for and thought they would be playing in this term after winning last season’s FA Cup final.

However, they were controversially demoted by UEFA for breaching rules around multi-club ownership and their place instead went to Nottingham Forest, who subsequently reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by eventual winners Aston Villa.

How sweet it would be for Palace tonight to clinch Conference League glory and with it an automatic spot in the league phase of the 2026/27 Europa League.

They would be the third English club to win Europe’s tertiary club competition in the six years since it was first introduced in 2021/22, with West Ham beating Fiorentina in the 2022/23 final in Prague and Chelsea demolishing Real Betis last season in Wroclaw.

The other winners so far were Roma - under Jose Mourinho - and Olympiacos.

1 hour ago

Glasner set for final chapter in remarkable Crystal Palace tenure

Tonight is of course the final game of Oliver Glasner’s remarkable two-year tenure at Crystal Palace, that has already seen the club break their major trophy duck by winning both the FA Cup and Community Shield at Wembley in the space of just three months in 2025 - beating Manchester City and Liverpool, respectively.

Though things briefly turned very sour back in January when Glasner announced that he would be leaving Selhurst Park when his contract expires in the summer amid a dismal run of Premier League form, with some calling for him to be sacked, there is no question whatsoever of the significant standing that the Austrian holds within the club’s history.

And what does the future hold for Glasner, with no next job seemingly lined up?

It is worth noting that Glasner knows what it takes to win a major European final as a manager, having guided Eintracht Frankfurt past Rangers on penalties to win the 2021/22 Europa League in Seville.

Palace supporters will be hoping that experience counts for a lot tonight.

PA

1 hour ago

Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano fans clash in Leipzig

Regrettably there was some fan trouble on the eve of the Conference League final in Leipzig, which you can read more about here.

"At approximately 20:00 (19:00 BST), around 300 Rayo Vallecano fans, considered to be at high risk of hooliganism, were gathered in the city centre," read a statement from Saxon State Police on Tuesday night.

"Bottles, beer glasses, and pub furniture were thrown at each other. Physical altercations also occurred.

"Officers on the scene immediately intervened and separated the two groups of fans, checked the identities of more than 300 people, and issued dispersal orders.

"Known troublemakers from Crystal Palace moved to the area of the Penguin Ice Bar and approximately 60 individuals provoked passing Spanish fans and were surrounded by federal police."