Two teams looking to keep their perfect record in the 2025-26 Conference League intact will clash on Thursday night as Crystal Palace welcomes AEK Larnaca to Selhurst Park.
The Eagles got off to a strong start three weeks ago with a 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev in the League Phase. Larnaca, however, made a real statement by thrashing AZ Alkmaar 4-0 at home.
Palace will be riding a wave of momentum following a thrilling 3-3 draw with Bournemouth last weekend. It was a spectacular recovery after their club-record 19-game unbeaten streak across all competitions was snapped by a 2-1 loss to Everton just before the international break.
The star of the show against Bournemouth was Jean-Philippe Mateta, who scored a superb hat-trick and almost bagged a fourth deep in stoppage time. Thanks to his heroics, the Eagles remain unbeaten at Selhurst Park this season, a run stretching back to last February.
Despite the recent speculation about Oliver Glasner's long-term future, the highly-rated coach is focused on one thing: guiding his team to a victory in their first-ever European home fixture on Thursday.
This match holds a small piece of London history. Because most major clubs are north of the Thames, only two previous UEFA men's club competition matches have ever been played south of the river. That figure is finally set to rise with Palace's inclusion. Glasner's men will be confident, especially since Larnaca’s last encounter with an English side saw them lose a two-legged tie to West Ham 6-0 on aggregate in the 2022-23 Conference League Round of 16.
Larnaca finished fourth in the Cypriot First Division last season and have made a promising start to the new campaign, sitting fifth after last weekend's 2-0 win over Paralimni.
The Cypriot side has been scoring freely, netting 15 goals in their last five matches across all competitions. They truly turned heads on matchday one when they stunned Dutch powerhouse AZ with a four-goal victory—their largest European win outside of the qualifying rounds.
Imanol Idiakez's team is desperately bidding to advance past the group stage of a European competition for the very first time. They'll be well-positioned to make history if they can pull off another massive upset against Palace. However, they'll need to overcome their recent travel woes, as the "Yellow-greens" are winless in their four European away matches this season (including qualifiers).
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Palace has a few players definitely unavailable due to injury: Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad are both out with knee problems, and Caleb Kporha is recovering from a back injury. Additionally, Naouirou Ahamada won't feature as he was not registered in the Europa League squad.
Manager Oliver Glasner is expected to rotate his side heavily to keep things fresh. However, he might be forced to stick with Tyrick Mitchell at left wing-back, as Borna Sosa is suspended following his red card in the victory over Dynamo Kiev.
A few key players like Daniel Muñoz, Adam Wharton, Ismaïla Sarr, and hat-trick hero Jean-Philippe Mateta could be given a rest. This opens the door for others to start, including Nathaniel Clyne, Jefferson Lerma, Will Hughes, Romain Esse, Justin Devenny, and Eddie Nketiah.
Larnaca is missing their first-choice goalkeeper, Kewin Komar, who is still sidelined with a broken hand and hasn't played this season, so Zlatan Alomerovic will continue in goal.
They also have issues up front, as attackers Enzo Cabrera (knee) and Karol Angielski (muscle), who have scored five goals between them, are both in the treatment room. Left-back Ángel García is also out with a muscle tear.
In defense, penalty expert Hrvoje Miličević—who has remarkably already scored five spot-kicks this season—is set to keep his place at centre-back. Up front, Riad Bajić is likely to be joined in the attack by Waldo Rubio and Yerson Chacón.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Clyne, Lacroix, Guehi; Esse, Lerma, Hughes, Mitchell; Kamada, Devenny; Nketiah
AEK Larnaca possible starting lineup:
Alomerovic; Ekpolo, Milicevic, Roberge, Gnali; Roberge, Gustavo, Pons; Rubio, Bajic, Chacon
EXPERT PREDICTION
Crystal Palace 2-0 AEK Larnaca