Conference League

2026-03-19 - AEK Larnaca vs Crystal Palace

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

AEK Larnaca v Crystal Palace
Football: UEFA Conference League Last 16 Second Leg
Thursday 19th March 2026 - Kick Off 5:45pm
This game is live on TV

AEK Larnaca

It is very much trending towards another season of domestic disappointment for AEK Larnaca who are 8 points behind Cypriot leaders Omonia Nicosea and that saw the departure of a couple of key figures in management last week. One of those was manager Imanol Idiakez and it was Javi Rozada who came in just days before the First Leg of this Last 16 tie in the Conference League.

Despite the limited time spent with his new squad, Rozada followed the lead of Idiakez by avoiding a defeat in South London, although this time AEK Larnaca had to settle for a goalless draw. They have to be feeling pretty good about producing the upset on Thursday when taking the tie back home, especially as AEK Larnaca had a 2-1-0 record at home in the League Phase of the competition and did not concede a goal.

AEK Larnaca have lost 2 of the last 10 games played in all competitions and they have produced wins in half of those matches to build up some confidence and momentum. In two previous home games, AEK Larnaca had lost one and drawn the other, but the side beat Chloraka here most recently.

Jorge Miramon picked up an injury in the First Leg that leaves him doubtful for the Second Leg this week.

Crystal Palace

Another testy press conference was concluded by Oliver Glasner following another disappointing goalless draw at Selhurst Park and it feels the parting between manager and Crystal Palace is rapidly coming up. You could even make an argument that Glasner will not see out the season if a largely underwhelming Conference League campaign is concluded on Thursday with the March international break a perfect time to part ways.

No one associated with the club will be thinking about that, but Crystal Palace have continued to make heavy weather of a competition in which the likes of West Ham United and Chelsea have picked up the trophy in recent years. They only just scraped past Zrinjski Mostar in the Knock Out Play Off Round last month, while The Eagles have a 2-1-1 away record in the Conference League as they look to produce much more composure in the final third after the goalless draw in the Last 16 First Leg.

Crystal Palace may only have lost 1 of the last 7 games in all competitions, but 3 of those matches have ended in draws and they have continued to struggle for consistency in the final third. The best recent performance was produced away from home in the 1-3 win at Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace have won 2 of the last 4 away games played in all competitions.

Dean Henderson and Daniel Munoz are both hoping to be available- the former missed the draw with Leeds United through illness, but has had more time to recover, while Munoz has been out since suffering a shoulder injury in the win at Spurs. The manager may choose to make one or two changes to his starting eleven and his European experience is going to be invaluable to the team.

Head to Head

This is the third time Crystal Palace and AEK Larnaca are meeting this season, although the first time in Cyprus.

In the League Phase of the Conference League, AEK Larnaca were able to win 0-1 before the goalless draw in the First Leg of this Last 16 tie last week with both fixtures taking place at Crystal Palace's home ground.

Prediction

The weather is picking up in the United Kingdom in the middle of March, but the Crystal Palace players may be grateful that they are not expected to be playing in much greater temperatures on Thursday in Larnaca.

Showers are expected and that should allow the English Premier League club to avoid melting in what can be very hot temperatures that Crystal Palace would simply not be accustomed to be dealing with at this stage of the season.

The conditions may be playing ball, but AEK Larnaca have refused to be intimidated by the power of the English game and they have been able to contain Crystal Palace twice this season. Two clean sheets have to be respected in those matches, but this has also been a season long strength of AEK Larnaca and that makes this a tough tie for the visitors, despite still being favourites to progress.

You cannot ignore the fact that Crystal Palace have clearly had the best chances in the two matches against one another, but they have continued to struggle for consistency in the final third. The new signings have yet to really contribute as Oliver Glasner will have hoped and there is a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the Crystal Palace players with the expectations around them in this Conference League competition.

An early goal can change things drastically, but everything in this one is pointing to another tight game.

Crystal Palace have not been a team scoring a lot of goals and that is backed up by the fact they have 13 goals in 8 Conference League games played this season.

However, they have only conceded 7 goals in those matches and they are facing an opponent who finished in the top eight of the Conference League standings by scoring just 7 goals in 6 League Phase fixtures played.

AEK Larnaca have been very good defensively though and this is a team that have conceded just once in the 7 Conference League games played since September.

With all this being said, it feels like the first goal is going to be so, so important in this Second Leg and the tie could develop into a tense one with little between the teams. Underlying numbers suggest Crystal Palace will eventually find the right touch in the final third to break through this tough rearguard and they probably deserve to be favourites, but AEK Larnaca are not going to want to give anything away and will look to frustrate for long periods.

A lack of goals may hold the Cypriot club back and the best play here looks to be backing at least one of the teams to fail to score in the ninety minutes scheduled.