Crystal Palace tonight begin their Conference League campaign with the first leg of a group stage qualification play-off at home against Fredrikstad.Manager Oliver Glasner will aim to build on a respectable draw achieved away to Chelsea in the opening Premier League fixture,

Stefano Pioli assures Fiorentina are ‘motivated’ for tomorrow’s Conference League play-off against Ukrainian team Polissya, but confirms Lucas Beltran was left out due to transfer activity.The

Eberechi Eze will not play for Crystal Palace in their Europa Conference League playoff game against Fredrikstad ahead of his move to Arsenal. There had been some doubt over whether the attacking midfielder would feature for the Eagles on Thursday night.

The build-up to the match has been fraught. Crystal Palace were due to play in the Europa League this season but were demoted to the Conference League after it was deemed they had fallen foul of multi-club ownership regulations. That decision was upheld after a contentious CAS appeal, prompting widespread protests from across the footballing world.

Free expert football tips, best bets and predictions for Thursday's Conference League play-off round, first leg matches.

Conference USA will be the latest league to implement player availability reports, it was announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Crystal Palace are preparing for a Conference League play-off following their disappointing demotion from the Europa League. However, UK fans won't need to subscribe to any services to watch the match, as it will be broadcast on free-to-air television.

Thelin was asked if having the safety net of guaranteed Conference League football takes some of the pressure off going into these two games, but he dismissed that notion, saying they are only targeting the Europa League. Thelin believes his team "is growing" and is looking forward to experiencing a European atmosphere at Pittodrie.