Fiorentina's visit starts business end of Conference League campaign
[BBC] [Getty Images] This week, Crystal Palace are one of the five remaining English teams left in European competitions, and nationally, probably the fifth-most important. Demotion from the Europa League has meant that while Palace fans have endured the trials and tribulations of Uefa's third-ranked club competition, it has been a minor blip on the radar to a much wider audience. Even on Thursday itself, the allure of Porto v Nottingham Forest and Bologna v Aston Villa may draw the media's focus, and for the Conference League, rightly or wrongly, the assumption is that the Premier League entrant should be competing for honours - the story only becomes interesting if a team makes it to the final.
Nonetheless, from the Palace fan standpoint, the arrival of Fiorentina at Selhurst Park marks the first time a club of this stature has travelled to SE25 in the Conference League. For dedicated or casual watchers of Football Italia in the 1990s, Serie A and teams like Fiorentina hold a special place in our football experience. In an era when glimpses of most international talent were restricted to selected Champions League games and international tournaments, the stars in Italy were as accessible as Premier League players were on Match of the Day.
This iteration of Fiorentina may not be the team of Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa, and because of the cross-pollination between European leagues, there are many familiar names and faces within the opposing squad. Still, this match marks the start of the business end of the competition. The metaphorical slate can be wiped clean of low-block football that has haunted Oliver Glasner throughout the competition.
Palace are four matches away from a potential final in Leipzig and Thursday is the first opportunity to see how they intend to meet that challenge. Find more from Alex Pewter at FYP podcast