Pierre Sage, a Lyonnais and dedicated figure in the world of football, finds himself back in familiar territory as Crystal Palace prepares to face Olympique Lyonnais at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais. Having risen through the ranks from youth coaching at Olympique Lyonnais to head coach, Sage took over in November 2023, guiding Lyon to Europa League qualification for the 2023-24 season.

The Europa League promises excitement with early kick-offs, featuring Torreense and Sunderland. Despite their struggles in the domestic league, Torreense, fresh off a historic 2-1 victory over Sporting in the Taça de Portugal, aims to build momentum after defeating Lillestrom in their Europa League opener. Meanwhile, Sunderland, currently sitting 17th in the Premier League, looks to energize their season after a solid Europa League start, having beaten AZ last month.

Additional matches include RB Salzburg against Milan and Union Saint-Gilloise versus Real Sociedad, both of which could easily be mistaken for Champions League fixtures in another context. Bayer Leverkusen also faces a challenging away match against Lech Poznan.

As the evening unfolds, fans can look forward to an action-packed liveblog covering the 5.45pm BST games, with Simon Burnton set to provide updates for the 8pm BST kick-offs. Enjoy the thrilling European football festivities!