Conference League quarter-final first leg: Crystal Palace vs Fiorentina facts
Thursday, April 2, 2026
Article body
First-time European quarter-finalists Crystal Palace welcome perennial last-eight participants Fiorentina for the first leg of their UEFA Conference League tie.
Palace edged past AEK Larnaca in the round of 16, Ismaïla Sarr scoring twice as they earned a 2-1 win after extra-time in Greece, the first leg at Selhurst Park having finished goalless. Palace had finished tenth with as many points in the league phase and subsequently beat Zrinjski 3-1 on aggregate in the knockout phase play-offs (1-1 a, 2-0 h).
Fiorentina won 2-1 both home and away against Raków in the round of 16, having needed extra time to see off another Polish side in the knockout phase play-offs, beating Jagiellonia 5-4 on aggregate (3-0 a, 2-4 aet). They had a record of W3 L3 in the league phase, which resulted in a 15th-place finish.
Last match
This is the teams' first meeting and Palace's maiden fixture against an Italian team.
Palace are the seventh Premier League club to face Fiorentina, who have won six of their 13 contests against English opposition (D3 L4). They are, however, winless in their last three (D1 L2), since a 2-0 home victory against Tottenham in the second leg of the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 32, which completed a 3-1 aggregate success.
This is Fiorentina's first match against a team from England since a 1-2 defeat by West Ham in the 2023 Conference League final in Prague.
The Italian side's away record against Premier League teams is W2 D1 L3, with a 2-1 win against Liverpool at Anfield on Matchday 6 of the 2009/10 Champions League group stage their most recent victory on English soil – their only success in their last five visits (D1 L3).
Fiorentina won their first two two‑legged ties against English opposition but lost the most recent – 1-4 on aggregate against Tottenham in the round of 32 during the 2015/16 Europa League (1-1 h, 0-3 a).
This is only Palace's second season in UEFA competition and a first since their 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup campaign where they lost 0-4 on aggregate against Samsunspor in the third round (0-2 h, 0-2 a).
The Eagles are featuring in a major European quarter‑final for the first time. They are the fifth English club to reach the last eight of the Conference League after Leicester (2021/22), West Ham (2022/23), Aston Villa (2023/24) and Chelsea (2024/25) — all of whom won their quarter‑final ties.
Fiorentina have reached at least the semi-finals in each of their three UEFA Conference League entries prior to this season, and were beaten finalists in both 2022/23 (1-2 vs West Ham in Prague) and 2023/24 (0-1 aet vs Olympiacos in Athens). This is therefore their fourth consecutive quarter-final in the competition, having never previously lost at this stage.
European Cup Winners' Cup winners in 1960/61, when they beat Rangers 4-1 over two legs (2-0 a, 2-1 h), Fiorentina were also European Cup finalists in 1956/57, losing 0-2 to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Key stats
Palace are unbeaten in their last six Conference League matches (W3 D3).
The London club are also unbeaten in their last four home games (W2 D2).
Palace have won their last three two-legged European ties.
Fiorentina have won ten of their 11 European quarter‑finals, the only exception a 3-1 aggregate defeat by Celtic (0-3 a, 1-0 h) in the 1969/70 European Cup. They were 4-3 winners against Celje at this stage of last season's Conference League (2-1 a, 2-2 h).
The Italian side have lost only four of their 22 European quarter‑final matches (W13 D5).
Fiorentina have won 15 of their last 16 two-legged European ties.
In the round of 16 second leg, the Viola became the first team to play 50 matches in the Conference League, Matchday 1 to final.