⚽UEFA Conference League Discussion Thread -- 2025/26 | Group Phase

[Daniel91]

Tomorrow's matches will be very interesting to watch and bet on.
I would single out Shakhtar, Fiorentina, Strasbourg and AEK as slight favorites.
I see comments that Crystal Palace is expected to win and go through against AEK Larnaca, but I would warn about the big crisis of Crystal Palace's game and results in the English league.
Crystal Palace had big problems in the match against the Bosnian representative Zrinjski in the previous round of the knockout phase, so I would not write off AEK Larnaca in this match.

[CLS63]

Samsunspor are from our league and they have still been competing in the Conference League. However they got beaten really hard by Vallecano today. This is mostly because of inexperience and quality gap of course.

Crystal Palace are still struggling with scoring against AEK despite dominating the game. Fiorentina also can't get ahead against Rakow.

It is really difficult to place a bet on even the favourites in this tournament.

[Agathamay]

Samsunspor are from our league and they have still been competing in the Conference League. However they got beaten really hard by Vallecano today. This is mostly because of inexperience and quality gap of course.

Crystal Palace are still struggling with scoring against AEK despite dominating the game. Fiorentina also can't get ahead against Rakow.

It is really difficult to place a bet on even the favourites in this tournament.

The conference League is mainly for clubs that are finding it hard to anticipate for the UEFEA Champions League or the Europa League but failed. I'm more surprise to see Crystal Palace been unable to win their oppositions. Crystal Palace have been very irrelevant in elite tournaments but I wonder how they manage to beat Liverpool on several occasions. Palace will come for you and win you comfortaby. This is the conference League and I do know the clubs that will still manage to elevate themselves for proper winnings.

[Nheer]

Samsunspor are from our league and they have still been competing in the Conference League. However they got beaten really hard by Vallecano today. This is mostly because of inexperience and quality gap of course.

Crystal Palace are still struggling with scoring against AEK despite dominating the game. Fiorentina also can't get ahead against Rakow.

It is really difficult to place a bet on even the favourites in this tournament.

Conference league might look easy but it's really not, it also needs experience to be able to compete properly there. Some teams that are not used to playing there will find it difficult to win games even though they look superior. I'm not surprised that Crystal Palace are finding it difficult there , teams there are not easy to beat especially when it gets to the knock out stages. Crystal Palace couldn't score a single goal and the game ended goalless despite being the home team, it's a disappointment. With this I don't see them going far in this competition at all. Maybe it's because they are not used to having appearances in European competitions.

Placing a bet in this competition and winning is by luck so It's safer to pick Over/Under options

[snipie]

Tomorrow's matches will be very interesting to watch and bet on.
I would single out Shakhtar, Fiorentina, Strasbourg and AEK as slight favorites.
I see comments that Crystal Palace is expected to win and go through against AEK Larnaca, but I would warn about the big crisis of Crystal Palace's game and results in the English league.

Pretty much accurate predictions from you pal. The teams that you listed all won their matches up to 4 goals difference for AEK Athens. These are one of the best teams in this league.
For Crystal Palace, you mentioned valid reasons but we always think that they will fix themselves now. Apart from their draw, there is Samsunspor that was badly beaten by Rayo Vallecano. Their results aren't promising at all and the second leg will be harder for them in Spain.

[DiMarxist]

AEK Anthens were the biggest winners in the first leg at this round of the conference league. Celje has been impressive so far from the beginning of this competition scoring alot of goals but it was not so as they could not even score a single goal in this game. This only tells you of the quality of the opponents that they came up against. Winning with such a huge amount of goals away from home for AEK  Athens has secured their place at the next phase of the competition because, I don't see Celje going to Greece and causing an upset by scoring four or five unreplied goals, nice one from AEK Anthens.

[LTU_btc]

AEK Anthens were the biggest winners in the first leg at this round of the conference league. Celje has been impressive so far from the beginning of this competition scoring alot of goals but it was not so as they could not even score a single goal in this game. This only tells you of the quality of the opponents that they came up against. Winning with such a huge amount of goals away from home for AEK  Athens has secured their place at the next phase of the competition because, I don't see Celje going to Greece and causing an upset by scoring four or five unreplied goals, nice one from AEK Anthens.

Celje was great because of manager Albert Riera. After he moved to Eintracht and was replaced by no name assistant, team completely collapsed.
Crystal Palace failed to beat mighty AEK Larnaca at home. When you see this game and their struggle with Zrinjski, I don't know how thye can be one of favorite to win Conference league.

[Mustang Shelby]

AEK Anthens were the biggest winners in the first leg at this round of the conference league. Celje has been impressive so far from the beginning of this competition scoring alot of goals but it was not so as they could not even score a single goal in this game. This only tells you of the quality of the opponents that they came up against. Winning with such a huge amount of goals away from home for AEK  Athens has secured their place at the next phase of the competition because, I don't see Celje going to Greece and causing an upset by scoring four or five unreplied goals, nice one from AEK Anthens.

AEK put in a magnificent performance and secured their place in the next round. AEK Larnaca, meanwhile, managed a tough 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace in England. Now they will hope for a miracle in the return leg, as their opponent is a team capable of winning the Conference League. There are huge differences in squad quality and value between the two teams. Despite this, they put up a great fight and remained undefeated in England.

[MK-74]

AEK Athens lost 2–0 at home to NK Celje, but since they won the first leg 4–0, they still advanced to the quarter final.

Mainz 05 defeated Sigma Olomouc 2–0 at home and qualified for the quarter final.

Fiorentina won both matches against Raków and advanced to the quarter final.
This is a very important tournament for Fiorentina because their situation in the league is not good at all, so they need to achieve success here. They are also one of the favorites to win the competition.

[Moreno233]

AEK Athens lost 2–0 at home to NK Celje, but since they won the first leg 4–0, they still advanced to the quarter final.

They were complacent in the match and such level of carelessness can cause them their qualification. There is no justification for such shameful outing, from beating Celje 0-4 at away to losing 0-2 in their home where they even have home advantage in their favor.

Mainz 05 defeated Sigma Olomouc 2–0 at home and qualified for the quarter final.

Mainz is not bad this season, they have gotten some good wins that makes them a threat to any team they meat. I knew they would win at home as they were able to secure a goalless draw at away. They won the match with fair and square and are set for the next round of the competition.

[execijutiere]

Despite losing 2-0 at home to their opponents, AEK Athens managed to progress to the next round. They went into the match with the confidence gained from beating their opponents 4-0 away in the first leg. Whilst they didn’t play particularly well in this fixture, the aggregate score stood at 4-2 as they lost by two goals, and they progressed to the next round.
Crystal Palace drew away against AEK Larnaca. The match ended in a draw after normal time, but Crystal Palace secured their place in the next round by winning the match thanks to a goal scored by Ismaila Sarr in extra time. I hadn’t expected Crystal Palace, who dominated the game from start to finish, to struggle so much to eliminate their opponents. Had their opponents not been reduced to ten men midway through the second half, they might well have been knocked out of the tournament.

[Daniel91]

Tomorrow's matches will be very interesting to watch and bet on.
I would single out Shakhtar, Fiorentina, Strasbourg and AEK as slight favorites.
I see comments that Crystal Palace is expected to win and go through against AEK Larnaca, but I would warn about the big crisis of Crystal Palace's game and results in the English league.

Pretty much accurate predictions from you pal. The teams that you listed all won their matches up to 4 goals difference for AEK Athens. These are one of the best teams in this league.
For Crystal Palace, you mentioned valid reasons but we always think that they will fix themselves now. Apart from their draw, there is Samsunspor that was badly beaten by Rayo Vallecano. Their results aren't promising at all and the second leg will be harder for them in Spain.

Yes, thank you.
Yes, we mostly had the expected results yesterday, without any major surprises.
Personally, I feel sorry for Rijeka, they played a fantastic match against Strasbourg and were close to winning against a team 10 times more expensive but they failed to reverse the negative result from the first leg.
Crystal Palace played better away than at home and deservedly qualified for the next round of the competition.
Considering the conditions in which they are playing, Shakhtar should be congratulated
on their great result.
I still consider Fiorentina, AEK and Rayo Vallecano to be the favorites in this competition.

[execijutiere]

Mainz secured their place in the next round by beating Sigma Olomouc 2-0 at home. They had drawn 0-0 in the first leg, but in the second leg, capitalising on home advantage, they dominated proceedings and managed to defeat their opponents. Mainz scored both goals in the second half.
Our representative, Samsunspor, were eliminated from the tournament despite winning 1-0 away from home. It was a disappointing outcome for Samsunspor, who fell 3-2 behind on aggregate following their 3-1 defeat in the first leg. They did not play badly in the match and could even have scored a second goal, but luck was not on their side.

[LTU_btc]

Despite losing 2-0 at home to their opponents, AEK Athens managed to progress to the next round. They went into the match with the confidence gained from beating their opponents 4-0 away in the first leg. Whilst they didn’t play particularly well in this fixture, the aggregate score stood at 4-2 as they lost by two goals, and they progressed to the next round.
Crystal Palace drew away against AEK Larnaca. The match ended in a draw after normal time, but Crystal Palace secured their place in the next round by winning the match thanks to a goal scored by Ismaila Sarr in extra time. I hadn’t expected Crystal Palace, who dominated the game from start to finish, to struggle so much to eliminate their opponents. Had their opponents not been reduced to ten men midway through the second half, they might well have been knocked out of the tournament.

Not bad attempt from Celje to make a comeback, but 4:0 on first leg was too much. While Crystal Palace, I don't know why they're so bad. Yes, they dominated, but c'mon, they played against one of weakest remaining teams who had ejected player and only beat them after extra time. Meanwhile Fiorentina beat Rakow in very difficult game and now they will face Crystal Palace. It will be most interesting pair.
When I see how favorites on paper is performing now I'm not sure at all who is main favorite to lift trophy.

[CLS63]

Our representative, Samsunspor, were eliminated from the tournament despite winning 1-0 away from home. It was a disappointing outcome for Samsunspor, who fell 3-2 behind on aggregate following their 3-1 defeat in the first leg. They did not play badly in the match and could even have scored a second goal, but luck was not on their side.

I was quite surprised with Samsunspor's reaction in the second leg to be honest. I didn't think they would even be able to draw in this away match. You must have seen how Vallecano play their home matches.

But somehow Samsunspor managed to get ahead and made their fans excited. Even though they couldn't qualify for the quarter finals they didn't give up until the end at least. If they played better in the first leg maybe things would be different now.

[Daniel91]

Despite losing 2-0 at home to their opponents, AEK Athens managed to progress to the next round. They went into the match with the confidence gained from beating their opponents 4-0 away in the first leg. Whilst they didn’t play particularly well in this fixture, the aggregate score stood at 4-2 as they lost by two goals, and they progressed to the next round.
Crystal Palace drew away against AEK Larnaca. The match ended in a draw after normal time, but Crystal Palace secured their place in the next round by winning the match thanks to a goal scored by Ismaila Sarr in extra time. I hadn’t expected Crystal Palace, who dominated the game from start to finish, to struggle so much to eliminate their opponents. Had their opponents not been reduced to ten men midway through the second half, they might well have been knocked out of the tournament.

Not bad attempt from Celje to make a comeback, but 4:0 on first leg was too much. While Crystal Palace, I don't know why they're so bad. Yes, they dominated, but c'mon, they played against one of weakest remaining teams who had ejected player and only beat them after extra time. Meanwhile Fiorentina beat Rakow in very difficult game and now they will face Crystal Palace. It will be most interesting pair.
When I see how favorites on paper is performing now I'm not sure at all who is main favorite to lift trophy.

I agree, the favorites in this competition, like Fiorentina, Crystal Palace, AEK or Rayo Vallecano are struggling and don't seem convincing.
Crystal Palace is in a serious crisis and I doubt they can make it to the end in this competition.
Fiorentina had a few bad games in this competition but somehow they seem like serious candidates to win the competition, along with Rayo Vallecano.
The Conference League is the weakest European competition in terms of quality, in which teams like Rijeka, Celje or Zrinjski can also trouble the favorites, so everything is open.

[Silence Scream]

Despite losing 2-0 at home to their opponents, AEK Athens managed to progress to the next round. They went into the match with the confidence gained from beating their opponents 4-0 away in the first leg. Whilst they didn’t play particularly well in this fixture, the aggregate score stood at 4-2 as they lost by two goals, and they progressed to the next round.
Crystal Palace drew away against AEK Larnaca. The match ended in a draw after normal time, but Crystal Palace secured their place in the next round by winning the match thanks to a goal scored by Ismaila Sarr in extra time. I hadn’t expected Crystal Palace, who dominated the game from start to finish, to struggle so much to eliminate their opponents. Had their opponents not been reduced to ten men midway through the second half, they might well have been knocked out of the tournament.

Not bad attempt from Celje to make a comeback, but 4:0 on first leg was too much. While Crystal Palace, I don't know why they're so bad. Yes, they dominated, but c'mon, they played against one of weakest remaining teams who had ejected player and only beat them after extra time. Meanwhile Fiorentina beat Rakow in very difficult game and now they will face Crystal Palace. It will be most interesting pair.
When I see how favorites on paper is performing now I'm not sure at all who is main favorite to lift trophy.

Crystal Palace will probably win this cup. I think they will easily overcome Fiorentina. However, I admit their performance in the conference league has been below expectations. Despite being far superior and of higher quality than some of their opponents, they haven't been able to deliver the dominant performance expected. Nevertheless, they haven't made any mistakes so far and will likely be the winners in the Fiorentina match.

[LTU_btc]

1/4 final of Conference league is already stage where we have some proper matches. On paper Crystal Palace - Fiorentina looks like most interesting pair, but both these teams is so bad this season that I'm not sure who can be called favorite. And all 4 pairs IMO don't have clear favorite. Maybe only Rayo Vallecano against AEK, but not significantly.

[BitcoinHunt3r]

1/4 final of Conference league is already stage where we have some proper matches. On paper Crystal Palace - Fiorentina looks like most interesting pair, but both these teams is so bad this season that I'm not sure who can be called favorite. And all 4 pairs IMO don't have clear favorite. Maybe only Rayo Vallecano against AEK, but not significantly.

I think today's match will probably be dominated by the home teams, yeah sometimes the performance of each team can change when facing an important match especially the first leg is the first stage to secure the position if they fail then the situation will be worse in the second leg. If your attention is on Crystal Palace vs Fiorentina while I am more interested in Shakhtar Donetsk vs AZ Alkmaar, my prediction is that both teams will play aggressively and may score many goals so for the betting options, the total goals over 2.5 and both teams to score, what do you think?

[LTU_btc]

while I am more interested in Shakhtar Donetsk vs AZ Alkmaar, my prediction is that both teams will play aggressively and may score many goals so for the betting options, the total goals over 2.5 and both teams to score, what do you think?

Haven't looked at odds yet, but Shakhtar - AZ sounds like a game which might be high scoring for sure and such bets makes sense.