Crystal Palace remain in contention for automatic qualification to the Europa League round of 16 after drawing 2-2 away to Beşiktaş on Thursday evening. The result means the Eagles have collected four points from their opening three league-phase fixtures.
Palace began with a 4-0 victory over Lech Poznań before suffering a narrow 3-2 defeat at Olympique Lyonnais. They are now 15th in the table, level on points with Sparta Praha and Real Sociedad, who sit immediately below and above them respectively. Palace’s goal difference of plus three places them ahead of Sparta’s plus two, but behind Sociedad’s plus five.
On the current standings, Oliver Glasner’s side would qualify for the play-off round as a seeded team. However, the top eight progress directly to the last 16, and Palace are only three points behind eighth-placed Beşiktaş with the league phase still underway.
Benfica lead the table after beating Omonia 4-1 to maintain a perfect record, narrowly sitting above Bayer Leverkusen on goals scored. Palace’s next European fixture comes on matchday four, when Hoffenheim visit Selhurst Park on Thursday 5 November at 17:45 GMT.
Hoffenheim are 23rd with three points. Their campaign has included a 3-0 win over Lyon, alongside defeats to OFI Crete and Beşiktaş. A Palace victory could lift the Eagles into the top eight, depending on results elsewhere. Matchday five will then bring a home meeting with Real Sociedad on Thursday 26 November at 20:00 GMT.
