Four Crystal Palace players are at risk of suspension heading into tonight’s Conference League quarter-final second leg against Fiorentina.
Palace are in pole position to qualify for the semi-finals of Europe’s tertiary club competition after recording a 3-0 first-leg victory at home to the Serie A side last week.
Goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta, Tyrick Mitchell and Ismaila Sarr have given Palace a commanding lead as they head to Florence on Thursday, underlining their credentials as favourites to win the Conference League.
Oliver Glasner’s side have breathing room ahead of the second leg at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
So, with Maxence Lacroix, Jaydee Canvot, Chris Richards and Adam Wharton all one booking away from suspension, the Austrian could look to rotate his side ahead of a potential semi-final meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk or AZ Alkmaar.
Shakhtar are 3-0 up on aggregate and favourites to progress to the semi-finals after scoring three times inside the final 20 minutes to take a dominant first-leg lead.
UEFA regulations state that all yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals, which means that if Lacroix, Canvot, Richards or Wharton were booked against Fiorentina, they would miss the first leg of the semi-finals.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, have six players at risk of suspension as they look to overturn Palace’s first-leg lead.
Pietro Comuzzo, Nicolo Fagioli, Albert Gudmundsson, Cher Ndour, Rolando Mandragora and Marin Pongracic have all picked up two yellow cards in the Conference League so far this season and are therefore one booking away from suspension if Fiorentina progress to the semi-finals.
Palace continued their resurgent form with a stoppage-time victory over Newcastle in the Premier League last weekend, while Fiorentina bounced back with a 1-0 win at home to Lazio in Serie A.
