Crystal Palace — Fredrikstad : Match Preview and Prediction for August 21,2025

Crystal Palace’s Remarkable Year

The year 2025 can already be confidently hailed as one of the most successful in Crystal Palace’s history.

Navigating European Complications

Despite finishing 12th in the Premier League, the Eagles successfully qualified for the Europa League by clinching the FA Cup, triumphing over Manchester City with a 1-0 victory in the final. However, an unforeseen complication arose thereafter. Due to both Crystal Palace and Lyon sharing the same ownership, and Lyon successfully resolving their financial issues, UEFA was compelled to separate the two clubs. Consequently, the English side was re-routed to the Conference League, while the French team will compete in the Europa League.

A Promising New Campaign

The new season under Oliver Glasner’s guidance has commenced with equally impressive results. They secured the FA Community Shield by defeating Liverpool in a penalty shootout (2-2, pens: 3-2). Their domestic league campaign also got off to a strong start, holding Chelsea to a goalless draw away from home (0-0), even after an early goal by Eberechi Eze was controversially disallowed.

Squad Stability and Key Departure

The club management opted for a strategy of maintaining their core squad rather than making significant new signings. This approach largely proved successful until very recently, as news broke just yesterday confirming Eberechi Eze’s transfer to Arsenal for a fee of £60 million.

Fredrikstad’s Mixed Fortunes

Fredrikstad can also mark the current year as a significant one, having only gained promotion to the top flight last season and immediately managing to win the Norwegian Cup.

European Aspirations Dashed

However, the good news largely ends there for the Norwegian side. They were eliminated from the very first qualification stage of the Europa League, suffering two defeats to the stronger Midtjylland (1-3, 0-2). Now, their focus shifts to battling for a spot, at least, in the Conference League.

Domestic Woes for Fredrikstad

In domestic competitions, Andreas Hagen’s team has experienced a string of setbacks. They endured an early exit from the Norwegian Cup, losing to Lillestrom (1-1, pens: 1-3) in the Round of 16. In the Eliteserien, they have managed to secure a mere ten points out of a possible 33 in their last eleven matches, resulting in their current eighth-place standing in the league table. While championship aspirations are naturally out of reach, a European spot remains a possibility, as they are only seven points adrift of the top four.