Lucy Ward
Former Leeds striker on TNT Sports

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Midtjylland have strong runners who can use pace. However, Nottingham Forest are dangerous when they win the ball back - they push bodies forward.

It is a threatening attack from Forest.

Omari Hutchinson cuts in from the right wing on to his favoured left foot and floats a cross towards Morgan Gibbs-White, but Martin Erlic defends it well with a vital header in a central position.

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A fortunate deflection earns AEK a corner on the break, some rare time out of their own half.

Poor Gus Ledes takes an eternity to get the ball to stay in the quadrant, so strong is the wind, which is also causing the corner flag to bash him like a Gladiators pugel stick.

He eventually gets the ball to settle long enough to whip in a deep corner but the hosts clear it with ease.

Daichi Kamada draws the breath of the home fans with a delicious first-time pass with the outside of his right boot into space on the left, but Palace can't capitalise this time.

They are playing with a lot of swagger in the opening stages.

Ismaila Sarr wants in on the attacking act as Jorgen Strand Larsen creates a hole in the defence with an off the ball run, allowing Sarr to drift in and bend a lovely left-footed shot a few inches over the angle of post and bar from just over 20 yards out.

Matz Sels is alert to the danger and dives at the feet of a visiting player. Decent goalkeeping from Forest's main man.

Zlatan Alomerovic to the rescue again for Larnaca as Jorgen Strand Larsen manages to bring a low through-ball under his spell on the left of the AEK area but can only fizz a low shot straight at the keeper, who looks set for another busy night, it must be said.

Palace are starting to hum.

Morgan Gibbs-White links up with Omari Hutchinson, but the return ball is a bit ahead of Gibbs-White and the Danes are able to clear their lines.

How has he kept this out?

Jorgen Strand Larsen leaves a defender for dead on the right of the box with a delightful piece of skill and whips a low cross into the goalmouth.

Evann Guessand meets it and smashes a first-time shot from six yards out which hits keeper Zlatan Alomerovic on the shoulder and flies away, with Adam Wharton's follow-up curled tamely wide.

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Bad news for 21-year-old Forest defender Jair Cunha as he has rolled his ankle and Nikola Milenkovic, one of those Vitor Pereira would have wanted to be able to rest, has to come on after only eight minutes on a cold, wet and blustery night in the East Midlands.

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AEK Larnaca had only ever played an English side twice before their 1-0 win here in October - a 6-0 aggregate loss to West Ham in 2023.

They are applying some early pressure on their second visit to London within six months tonight and a deep cross from left is nodded back into the mixer by Riad Bajic, their match-winner first time around, but no yellow and green shirt can get on the end of it.

Vítor Pereira has won six of his 22 Europa League matches as a manager (drawn eight, lost eight).

Across his last 22 games in charge of Premier League clubs, he has just three wins (drawn four, lost 15), one of which came in the previous round against Fenerbahce.

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Almost a shocking start for Forest as Junior Brumado has a headed chance when he gets on the end of a cross from former Bournemouth man Philip Billing, who had got to the byline.

Brumado's header was probably going wide, but Murillo didn't know that and hacks the ball to safety.

Lucy Ward
Former Leeds striker on TNT Sports

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest will be prepared this time. The are direct and get bodies into the box. Aerially they are very strong and set piece-wise as well, they are excellent.

What Forest cannot afford is any injuries, they need their big players to stay fit.

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With Daniel Munoz out after limping off at Tottenham a week ago, Brennan Johnson is picked over Nathaniel Clyne at right wing back tonight.

Bold, attacking choice from Oliver Glasner.

it's wet and windy at Selhurst Park as Evann Guessand drives forward and goes down under pressure near the AEK box, though nothing doing, says ref Igor Pajac.

We're under way in the late Europa League and Conference League action.

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Teams are out in both Nottingham and South London... kick-off is moments away.

Crystal Palace

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AEK Larnaca have won just one of their past nine away matches in European competition, losing five and drawing the other three.

Palace fans will remember only too well where that win came, however.

Palace had 68% of the possession and mustered 15 efforts on goal at Selhurst on that October night, but only one of them was on target and the Cypriots converted one of their four efforts to snatch the points.

Nottingham Forest

• Nottingham Forest and FC Midtjylland have already faced each other in the Europa League this season, with the Danish side beating Ange Postecoglou’s Forest side 3-2 at the City Ground in October.
• FC Midtjylland have won four of their nine matches against English sides in all European competitions (drawn two, lost three), with all four wins coming against different clubs (Manchester City, Southampton, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest).
• Nottingham Forest have a 65% win ratio in the first legs of major European knockout ties (won 15/23, drawn three, lost five), beating Fenerbahçe 3-0 in the first leg of this season’s play-offs.
• FC Midtjylland have won 11 of their last 13 matches in European competition (including qualifiers), although the two games they have not won in that run are their two most recent away games (drawn one, lost one).
• Igor Jesus has seven goals in the Europa League this season, the most ever by a Nottingham Forest player in a single major European season. The last time a player had more goals in a Europa League season for an English club was in 2018-19 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Arsenal (eight) and Olivier Giroud for Chelsea (11).