The fifth UEFA Conference League final is here, as another exciting year of Europe’s third tier club competition concludes. More than 100 teams participated in the qualifying rounds ahead of the 36-club league phase. Four rounds of knockout football followed, and now we have reached the showpiece event. Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano will meet at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, with continental glory on the line.
Ahead of Wednesday’s final, Football Lowdown gives a preview of the game, looking at both teams’ paths to Leipzig, the reward for winning the trophy, and a prediction of who will end up as champions.
Conference League Final Preview
Crystal Palace
2025/26 Conference League Record: 9-4-3
League Phase Position: 10th
Domestic Performance: 15th in Premier League; lost in the FA Cup third round, and quarterfinals in the EFL Cup
European Campaigns: Debut season
Making their European bow this season, Crystal Palace has already had a memorable run in the Conference League. They are now looking to become the third different English club to win the trophy after fellow London-based sides West Ham (2022/23) and Chelsea (2024/25).
Having finished 12th in the Premier League in 2024/25, the Eagles qualified for Europe as FA Cup winners. However, despite initially being slated to play in the Europa League, they were demoted to the UECL due to falling foul of multiclub ownership rules. Like all teams playing in the tournament, Palace played in qualifying, getting the better of Fredrikstad 1-0 on aggregate in the playoff round.
Although the league phase did not go as smoothly as they would have wanted, the Eagles ultimately finished with a 3-1-2 record, good enough for 10th spot. Defeats to Strasbourg and AEK Larnaca, along with a draw versus KuPS Kuopio, meant that Palace had to make do with a place in the knockout round playoffs instead of qualifying directly for the last 16.
After eliminating Zrinjski Mostar in the knockout playoffs, Oliver Glasner’s men found their way past AEK Larnaca in extra time, held on to beat competition regulars Fiorentina, and got the better of Shakhtar Donetsk across both legs. They are now one game away from completing the most incredible debut run in the Conference League’s short history.
Across the four previous editions of the UECL, English teams have always been represented from the semifinals onward. Two of the last three finals saw the Premier League side prevail. Historically speaking, Palace is looking to become the 12th different English club to lift a major European trophy. The last first-time winner on the continental scene from England was Arsenal in 1993/94, when they won their first and only UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
This will also be the first time Palace faces a Spanish team, making it the 10th different country they have faced a team from in the Conference League. They have managed to beat sides from seven different countries, with France and Finland being the sole exceptions.
Rayo Vallecano
2025/26 Conference League Record: 10-1-3
League Phase Position: 5th
Domestic Performance: 8th in LaLiga; lost in Copa del Rey round of 16
European Campaigns: 2nd (previous best: 2000/01 UEFA Cup quarterfinals)
Having gone two rounds better than they did at the beginning of the millennium, Rayo Vallecano is making their debut in a European final after a strong showing in the UECL.
Rayo qualified for this season’s competition after claiming seventh spot in LaLiga last term, which made them the fourth different Spanish side to feature in the Conference League. They entered with a tough task to follow after Real Betis had reached the final last May.
Unlike their opponents in Wednesday’s final, Los Franjirrojos had a much smoother run in the first half of the Conference League. After comfortably dispatching Belarus’ Neman Grodno in the playoff round, Rayo won four of their six league phase matches. Their only defeat came to Slovan Bratislava on matchday 4 as they finished in fifth spot with a 4-1-1 record. Funny enough, both of the teams they failed to beat during the league phase did not progress to the knockout stage.
Qualifying for the last 16 directly, Rayo got past Samsunspor, held off AEK Athens in the last eight, before beating league phase winners Strasbourg home and away in the semifinals. They have kept clean sheets in three of their last four games in the competition, and have managed to score in all but one game during their run.
Before last campaign, Spanish teams had disappointed in the UECL. None of Villarreal, Osasuna, or Real Betis managed to go farther than the round of 16, and none had even progressed from a knockout round tie in the competition proper. That all changed in 2024/25 when Betis went all the way to the final. Now, for the second year running, Rayo achieved the same success in getting this far.
This will be the first time Los Franjirrojos will take on an English side in what is their 27th European match all-time. England will be the 15th different nation Rayo has faced a team from. Of the 14 others they meet a side from, they are only winless against Slovak and Swedish clubs.
What is the Reward for Winning the Conference League?
Winning this season’s Conference League gives the club in question a nice trophy to go into their cabinet. In both teams’ case, this would be the biggest trophy they have ever won.
Equally important is the Europa League spot awarded to the UECL winners. Neither side managed to qualify for Europe via domestic play, meaning this is their last shot at playing continental football in 2026/27. It is the second year in a row where a continental final features two teams who can only qualify for Europe as a titleholder, after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League a year ago.
This means there will be no titleholder rebalancing for the UECL, since the winning side failed to qualify for Europe via domestic performance.
Prediction: Who Wins the Conference League Final?
Of the three European finals this season, the Conference League showpiece has the most on the line. Not only are Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano competing for UECL glory, but a Europa League spot for next season is up for grabs. As such, there is extra intrigue as to what happens in Leipzig.
Both teams have shown their best at different points of the competition this term. While Rayo certainly looked more convincing in the league phase, Palace has gotten more confident throughout the knockout stages, where they lost just once.
This is the second consecutive year that English and Spanish teams meet in the UECL final, with Chelsea beating Real Betis last May. Our prediction is that England will have continued success this time around, with Palace coming out on top. They have flourished at the right time, and looks the stronger of the two.
It will likely be a close game in Leipzig, but Palace, who lost out on playing in the UEL for this season, feels a bit more likely to come out on top.
