The second leg of the Conference League 2025/26 qualification playoff between Fredrikstad (Norway) and Crystal Palace (England) will take place on August 28 at Fredrikstad Stadium. The score of the first match is 1-0 in favor of Crystal Palace. Fredrikstad vs. Crystal Palace: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Fredrikstad
Andreas Hagen's side achieved a satisfactory result. After all, the team played in London against a Premier League representative, who had recently won their country's Super Cup, and lost by a modest score of 0-1. The Norwegians spent almost the entire match defending but made only one mistake. If the team can beat the English by at least two goals, they will advance to the main round of European competitions for the first time in their history.
- The Scandinavians have not won in regular time in 13 of their last 15 official matches (4 draws and 9 losses).
- No more than two goals were scored in 7 of Fredrikstad's last 10 official matches after 90 minutes.
- The Norwegians have not lost in regular time in 14 of their last 18 home matches at the official level (10 wins and 4 draws).
Predicted lineup for Fredrikstad (4-5-1)
Martin Børsholm – Daniel Eid, Maxwell Woledzi, Stian Molde, Ulrik Fredriksen – Oscar Elenschleger, Patrick Metcalfe, Sondre Sørlokk, Leonard Owusu, Solomon Owusu – Emil Holten.
Crystal Palace
In their first European match, the Londoners could not capitalize on the huge advantage they held throughout the game and settled for a narrow victory. At home, the club had 74% territorial advantage, took 25 shots, but only hit the target 5 times. Now, to play in the main round of European competitions for the first time, the English only need to avoid defeat in Norway.
- Crystal Palace's unbeaten streak in regular time at the official level stands at 12 matches (5 wins and 7 draws).
- No more than two goals were scored in 7 of the Londoners' last 9 official games after 90 minutes.
- In their last 7 official away matches, the club has only won once (4 draws and 2 losses).
Predicted lineup for Crystal Palace (4-4-2)
Dean Henderson – Borna Sosa, Daniel Munoz, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi – Adam Wharton, Justin Devenny, Jefferson Lerma, Will Hughes – Jean-Philippe Mateta, Ismaila Sarr.
Referee
Kristo Tohver (Estonia)
Matches – 7 (International matches, 2024/25–2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 39;
Average yellow cards per match – 5.6;
Red cards shown – 0;
Average fouls per match – 22;
Penalties – 57%.
Fredrikstad vs. Crystal Palace: Match Prediction
The first match was completely dominated by the English, but they couldn't fully capitalize on their potential and most of their opportunities. In the return match, not much is likely to change in the tactics of both clubs: the Norwegians will defend more, while the Londoners will attack. I believe the Scandinavians will not be able to avoid a heavy defeat again, as they need to come back, which means they'll have to switch to attacking play, thus opening up. The visitors will take advantage of this.
Fredrikstad, I remind you, lost in both matches to Midtjylland in the previous stage of the Europa League, with a two-goal difference. The team is also in poor form in their national championship, having won only 2 of their last 16 official matches. Meanwhile, the Londoners have achieved 7 clean-sheet victories with a two or three-goal margin in their last 13 away matches in the Premier League and FA Cup, drawing 4 times and losing only to Newcastle and Manchester City. The level of Premier League teams is still not comparable to clubs from the Eliteserien.
My prediction: Crystal Palace with a handicap (-1)
