Why Crystal Palace Could Have the Most Thrilling Season-Ender in World Football

For most clubs not involved in cup finals, May is a wind-down. The fixtures thin out, the league table solidifies, and the season quietly closes. A team might play two, maybe three times if they are lucky. But then there is Crystal Palace, a South London club that has somehow managed to turn the final month of the 2024–25 season into its own personal festival of football. With as many as seven matches potentially on the horizon, Oliver Glasner’s side could be the busiest and most closely watched club in the whole of Europe.

A Season That Has Already Defied Expectations

To understand why May feels so significant for Palace, you need to look at the full picture of what this club has achieved since August. The season opened with Community Shield success, a trophy that followed their historic FA Cup triumph in the previous campaign. From there, they navigated 38 Premier League fixtures, fought their way to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, and somehow also found themselves competing in European football for the first time in their history. That is not the schedule of a mid-table side coasting through a season. That is the programme of a club undergoing a genuine transformation.

Usually, Palace fans wait until May to see if they finish 11th or 12th. This year, it’s a little bit more exciting.

Seven Games in May: The Numbers That Tell the Story

Here is where things get genuinely extraordinary. If Crystal Palace beat Shakhtar Donetsk and reach the UEFA Conference League final, they will be faced with seven fixtures in the month of May alone. To put that in context: Arsenal, even if they progress to the Champions League final, will play just six times. Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea are each looking at no more than four May appearances. Palace, the so-called underdogs of this conversation, would outlast all of them on that front.

That kind of fixture load would push even the deepest squads. For a club of Palace’s size, managing it successfully would be one of the more remarkable feats in recent Premier League history.

Arsenal and Man City in Two Days: The Ultimate Test

As if seven games were not daunting enough, the scheduling offers up one truly jaw-dropping detail. Crystal Palace are set to face Arsenal on 22 May and then Manchester City just 48 hours later on 24 May. Two of the most powerful clubs in English football, back to back, with barely a rest in between. Whatever the league table looks like at that point, those will not be easy afternoons at Selhurst Park. The fact that Palace might be preparing for or recovering from a European final at the same time only adds to the spectacle.

The Conference League Dream and What It Would Mean

A potential Conference League final appearance is not just a nice story. It would represent a seismic shift in how this club is perceived at home and abroad. Palace have long been a beloved institution in South London, but a European trophy would elevate them to a different conversation entirely. The UECL final, scheduled in Leipzig this season, would be their biggest night in the club’s history. There is genuine hope, and genuine belief, that it could happen.

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Could This Be the Start of Something Bigger?

The real question hanging over all of this is not just about May. It is about what comes next. If Crystal Palace can handle a seven-game month, beat two title challengers back to back, and potentially lift a European trophy, the conversation around their ambitions shifts entirely. Europa League football next season becomes a realistic goal. The gap between Palace and the traditional top six starts to look a little smaller.

Oliver Glasner has quietly built something special in South London. May will mark his farewell and will be his and the club’s greatest test yet. But judging by the season that has come before it, there is every reason to believe they are ready for it.