UEFA Conference League Matchday 3: What to look out for

Chelsea and Fiorentina will be looking to maintain their perfect starts to the UEFA Conference League season against Noah and APOEL respectively as we reach the halfway point in the league phase.

All kick-off times 21:00 CET unless stated

Thursday 7 November
Petrocub vs Rapid Wien (18:45)
TSC vs Lugano (18:45)
HJK Helsinki vs Olimpija Ljubljana (18:45)
Gent vs Omonoia (18:45)
Legia Warszawa vs Dinamo-Minsk (18:45)
Pafos vs Astana (18:45)
Shamrock Rovers vs The New Saints (18:45)
Víkingur Reykjavík vs Borac (18:45)
APOEL vs Fiorentina
Chelsea vs Noah
Djurgården vs Panathinaikos
Copenhagen vs İstanbul Başakşehir
Hearts vs Heidenheim
Jagiellonia Białystok vs Molde 
Larne vs St. Gallen 
LASK vs Cercle Brugge 
Real Betis vs Celje
Vitória SC vs Mladá Boleslav

Headline games

Chelsea vs Noah

Two games, two wins, and eight goals scored – not a bad start to Conference League life for Chelsea. After finding the net once and assisting twice in their 4-1 defeat of Panathinaikos last time out, Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk asserted that the London club "are always aiming for the biggest results in tournaments they take part in".

The Blues lie top of the standings as they prepare to host Noah at Stamford Bridge, but their fellow competition newcomers have made quite the impression. The Armenian side defeated Mladá Boleslav 2-0 on their Conference League debut and were not disgraced in a 1-0 loss at Rapid Wien. "I am very pleased with what I saw from my players," said coach Rui Mota.

Key stat
Noah are the third Armenian side to play a UEFA men's club competition game in England: Ararat lost 3-1 at West Ham in 1975, while Wolves beat Pyunik 4-0 in 2019.

APOEL vs Fiorentina

A trip to Cyprus awaits Fiorentina, who sit second in the table after roaring back to beat St. Gallen 4-2. Coach Raffaele Palladino lauded his side's second-half performance and gave special mention to Edoardo Bove, whom he fielded in a more attacking midfield role: "He is our wild card and can adapt to various roles due to his intelligence and tactical awareness."

After taking just one point from their opening fixtures, APOEL will be hoping to find a spark of their own. Having replaced José Dominguez in October, coach Manuel Jiménez fell to defeat in his first Conference League outing, with the Cypriot side losing 1-0 to Borac. A Greek Cup and Super League winner as AEK Athens boss, former Sevilla defender Jiménez will hope to show his winning pedigree against Fiorentina.

Key stat
This is APOEL's third home game against an Italian side. The previous two both ended 1-1, against Napoli in 1976 and Torino in 1977.

Making their mark

Víkingur Reykjavík

By beating Cercle Brugge 3-1 in Kopavogur, Víkingur became the first Icelandic team to win a league or group phase game in a men's European competition. The Vikings fell behind early but responded just one minute later before sealing victory with two second-half goals. "We played out of their press and created chances, so we never doubted that another chance was going to come," said midfielder Gísli Gottskálk Thórdarson. They will look to secure a second successive triumph on Matchday 3 as they host Bosnian side Borac.

One to watch

Afimico Pululu (Jagiellonia)

Jagiellonia are one of nine teams with a 100% record so far, thanks in no small part to Afimico Pululu, one of two players to have scored three league phase goals so far. Born in Angola and raised in France, Pululu started his career at Basel and joined Jagiellonia in 2023 after a spell in Germany with Greuther Fürth, helping them to win a first-ever Polish title last term. "I like to play everywhere in attack," the 25-year-old said of his style. "I am a powerful player, fast, and good with my back to goal." As Jagiellonia welcome Molde, the dream of reaching the Conference League final at Poland's Stadion Wrocław is still on.