Crystal Palace meet AEK Larnaca in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie in 2025-26 UEFA Conference League.
Palace overcame Zrinjski Mostar in their Knockout Play-Off tie, whilst AEK Larnaca bypassed that stage due to their eighth-placed finish in the League Phase.
Team News
Maxence Lacroix is available for Palace after he was suspended for their 3-1 Premier League comeback victory at Tottenham.
Daniel Munoz is however ruled out after he suffered a shoulder injury in North London.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (knee) could return but Eddie Nketiah (muscle) and Cheick Doucoure (knee) remain absent.
AEK Larnaca will be without Yahav Gurfinkel (hip), Youssef Amyn (hamstring), Giorgos Naoum (muscle) and Jimmy Suarez (groin).
When is Kick-Off?
Palace host AEK Larnaca at Selhurst Park on Thursday 12 March at 8pm GMT, live on TNT Sports 2 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Palace lost 1-0 to AEK Larnaca in their only previous clash which came in October 2025 in the League Phase.
- AEK Larnaca won 1-0 in their only previous visit to Palace earlier this season (W1).
- Maxence Lacroix has scored in each of his last two home appearances for Palace in this season’s UEFA Conference League (W2).
- AEK Larnaca are yet to lose away from home in this season’s edition of the competition (W1, D2).
Prediction
Having had a week to focus on preparation due to no FA Cup involvement and completed a comeback league win at Tottenham, Palace are in a positive place confidence wise with one defeat in their last five in all competitions but they must be more clinical here than they were in the League Phase.
AEK Larnaca meanwhile are a difficult team to beat in this season’s competition despite their minnow status which shows that they can’t be underestimated, whilst the mental edge of having won here in October will only motivate them.
Palace however do seem to have found a new groove in my opinion lately and that win at Tottenham will only boost their morale, so I fancy them to nick the aggregate lead here.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-0 AEK Larnaca
Result: Crystal Palace 0-0 AEK Larnaca