As Crystal Palace prepare to welcome KuPS Kuopio to Selhurst Park in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday, 18th December (20:00 GMT), we take a closer look at the Finnish champions and their journey so far in Europe.
Tickets for Thursday evening's game are on general sale – find out more here.
Competing in their first-ever European league phase, KuPS currently sit 25th in the UEFA Europa Conference League standings, with six points from five matches – which places them just inside the elimination spots.
The Finnish side are just one point adrift of clubs such as Lincoln Red Imps, Universitatea Craiova, Sigma Olomouc, Shkëndija and Lech Poznań in the knockout play-off places, meaning qualification remains firmly within reach.
KuPS opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Drita, followed by a goalless stalemate with Breiðablik. A convincing 3-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava then gave their campaign real momentum, before a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Jagiellonia was followed by another goalless draw, this time against Lugano.
Despite KuPS' current standing, they are a difficult side to breakdown. In their five Conference League games so far, Jarkko Wiss' side have tasted defeat in one game and conceded just three goals.
This will be Wiss' final game in charge of the club, with KuPS announcing a few weeks ago that he would not be in charge for the 2026 season. A statement read: "We are still living the last weeks of the season together, fully and with purpose. Thank you Jarkko – the impact of your work will be felt in Kuopio for a long time."
Having lifted the 2024 Veikkausliiga title, KuPS began their European journey in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. They overcame Moldova’s Milsami Orhei in the first qualifying round before being eliminated by eventual group-stage qualifiers Kairat.
Dropping into the UEFA Europa League qualifiers, KuPS defeated Latvia’s RFS to guarantee league-phase football, but a heavy 6-0 aggregate defeat to Danish side Midtjylland in the play-off round ensured their place in the Conference League.
This season marks KuPS’ first appearance in a European competition proper since their first-round exit to Dynamo Kyiv in the 1990/91 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
The Kuopio-based club will be hoping to surpass the four-point return achieved by domestic rivals HJK Helsinki in last season’s Conference League league phase.
With the Finnish domestic season running from April to November, KuPS have enjoyed another strong campaign at home, successfully defending the Veikkausliiga title and securing their eighth Finnish championship overall.
League triumphs in 2019 and 2024 represent their third title of the modern era, with the club’s earlier successes coming between 1956 and 1976.
See KuPS in action against FC Midtjylland, below!
Thursday’s meeting will be KuPS’ first-ever competitive fixture against English opposition, and only their second against a British side.
Their sole previous encounter came in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League qualifiers, when they overcame Welsh outfit Llanelli 3-2 on aggregate. KuPS progressed after responding to Luke Bowen’s penalty in the second leg, striking back to secure qualification following an evenly contested tie.
There are few names in the KuPS squad likely to be familiar to Palace supporters, but midfielder Jaakko Oksanen brings experience of English football.
Oksanen joined Brentford in 2018 while the Bees were in the Championship and later spent the 2020/21 season on loan at AFC Wimbledon in League One. He made two league appearances for Brentford, alongside FA Cup outings, and featured 30 times for the Wombles, scoring once in a 1-1 draw with Blackpool in March 2021.
After a spell with Scottish side Greenock Morton – arguably the most consistent period of his career – Oksanen joined KuPS in 2022.
Elsewhere, Samuli Miettinen and Momodou Konaté may also ring a bell, having both spent brief spells with Italian side Sampdoria earlier in their careers.
Crystal Palace v KuPS Kuopio
