Crystal Palace and AEK Larnaca will lock horns in the first leg of their last 16 tie in the Europa Conference League at Selhurst Park on Thursday night.
Despite being the bookmakers' favorites to win Europe’s third-tier competition this season, Palace failed to finish in the top eight during the league phase.
As a result, Oliver Glasner’s side had to navigate a playoff tie with Zrinjski Mostar, which they did successfully with a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Domestically, the Eagles sit comfortably in 13th place in the Premier League, 10 points clear of the relegation zone, following a 3-1 triumph away at Tottenham in their last outing.
AEK Larnaca, meanwhile, have been one of the surprise packages of the Conference League thus far, finishing in the top eight of the league phase and remaining undefeated across all six of their matches.
Adding to the intrigue, the Cypriot side stunned Crystal Palace with a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park earlier this season, so they will return to the same venue unfazed by what lies ahead.
How the bookies view it: Cakewalk for Crystal Palace
The bookmakers don’t expect Crystal Palace to stumble again against AEK Larnaca at home, with an Eagles victory as short as 1/4 on bet365.
Having already emerged victorious at this venue earlier in the season, AEK Larnaca are as big as 10/1 on bet365 to repeat the feat, while a first leg stalemate has been priced up at 17/4 with the same firm.
Head to head: Larnaca looking for lightning to strike twice
As already mentioned, Larnaca have already tasted victory at Selhurst Park this season, having battled to a 1-0 win during the league phase in the first-ever meeting between the two sides.
If you fancy lightning to strike twice, then the same scoreline on Thursday night can be backed at 22/1 on bet365.
Players to watch: Sarr to star?
Having scored three goals across his six appearances in this season's Europa Conference League, Ismaila Sarr offers value to strike again on Thursday night at 6/5 on bet365.
Riad Bajic was the hero when the two sides clashed in the English capital earlier this season, netting the only goal of the game. The Larnaca forward is a 17/2 anytime goalscorer option on Thursday night.
Predicted line-ups
Daniel Munoz was forced off during last week’s win at Tottenham and is not expected to feature on Thursday night. The hosts will also be without the injured trio of Cheick Doucoure, Eddie Nketiah and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Larnaca, meanwhile, are carrying an almost clean bill of health, with Yerson Chacon the only player rated as doubtful for the visitors.
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Riad; Clyne, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Johnson, Sarr; Strand Larsen
AEK Larnaca: Alomerovic; Ekpolo, Milicevic, Roberge, Gnali; Roberge, Gustavo, Pons; Rubio, Bajic, Chacon
Anything else catch the eye?
It's difficult to imagine Crystal Palace taking Larnaca lightly this time around after losing 1-0 to them earlier in the season.
However, with the hosts too short to side with at the above-mentioned odds, instead look for them to win alongside under 3.5 goals, which boosts the odds to even-money (1/1) on bet365.
This pairing has proven profitable in three of the Eagles’ four victories in the Europa Conference League this season.
On a similar line of reasoning to the above, under 2.75 Asian Goals also merits consideration at evens on bet365.
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