Football Accumulator Tips: Plastic pitch no problem for Palace

Thursday's Football Accumulator Tips take us to Norway, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Romania as we chase a 9.36/1 winner.

Four countries, four games - can we complete a clean sweep? Read below for my selections and the reasons behind them...

Clean Sheet - Crystal Palace (A) - Yes vs Fredrikstad (17:00 BST, Channel 5) @ 1/1

Crystal Palace have one foot in the league phase of the Uefa Conference League after a 1-0 victory over Fredrikstad at Selhurst Park last week, but the Eagles will have to be on their guard this Thursday for the second leg at Fredrikstad Stadion, as any mistakes could prove costly.

It was a fairly routine victory for Oliver Glasner's side in south London last Thursday, although the Norwegians did make Palace work for their win, with the deadlock not broken until Jean-Philippe Mateta's header in the 54th minute.

Still, the Premier League club racked up 25 shots, forcing Fredrikstad goalkeeper Martin Borsheim into four saves, while the visitors could only manage five efforts, none troubling Dean Henderson between the Palace sticks.

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On a plastic pitch in Norway, the Eagles may be out of their comfort zone, but it may actually suit their superior talents, who won't have to worry about passing and controlling the ball on an uneven surface.

Palace have already kept two clean sheets this season, playing out a goalless draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their opening Premier League fixture before shutting out Fredrikstad at Selhurst.

Meanwhile, Forest could only manage one goal in their 1-1 draw in SE25 last Sunday, and Fredrikstad, who have failed to score in three of their last four games, may struggle to breach a solid Palace back line on Thursday, even at home.

Clean Sheet - Rayo Vallecano (H) - Yes vs Neman (19:00 BST) @ 8/11

Like the Eagles, La Liga side Rayo Vallecano went away last Thursday and won 1-0 in the first leg of their Conference League play-off tie, beating Belarusian outfit Neman 1-0 in Szeged.

Alvaro Garcia proved to be Rayo's hero on the night, coming off the bench and scoring the only goal of the game in the 77th minute.

Neman only recorded 25% of the possession, and mustered just six efforts at goal, although visiting shot-stopper Augusto Batalla was put to work for four of those.

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Back at their base in Madrid this week, though, Rayo will expect to comfortably keep out the Belarusians.

Los Franjirrojos conceded 26 times across 19 league outings at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas last season, and recorded a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Real Mallorca in their last game there on May 24.

The Spaniards have made a decent start defensively this season, only conceding a consolation effort in a 3-1 victory at Girona and being breached just once in a 1-0 defeat to Athletic Club at the Estadio San Mames, either side of their European win at the Szent Gellert Forum.

Neman, meanwhile, failed to score in their last Conference League trip, when they lost 2-0 to Klaksvik in the Faroe Islands on August 5.

Both Teams To Score - Yes in Al Alhi Jeddah vs Neom SC (19:00 BST) @ 4/6

The Saudi Professional League starts up again on Thursday, with Super Cup champions Al Ahli one of six teams in action.

Matthias Jaissle's side open up their 2025/26 league campaign against recently-promoted Neom, who romped to the Division 1 title last season, finishing 14 points clear of second-placed Al Najma.

A trip to the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium may appear daunting, but Neom aren't in the SPL to make up the numbers, as evidenced by their transfer activity this summer.

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Led by Christophe Galtier, Neom have made a big splash in the market, signing Said Benrahma, Marcin Bulka, Nathan Zeze, Amadou Kone and Saimon Bouabre, all from Ligue 1, for significant sums, as well as bringing in Alexandre Lacazette and Abdoulaye Doucoure on free transfers following their respective departures from Olympique Lyonnais and Everton.

As a result, the visitors will back themselves to get on the scoresheet in Jeddah, and I believe they will, with Al Ahli showing vulnerabilities in defence, despite their recent successful Super Cup campaign.

The Royals beat Al Qadisiya 5-1 in the semi-finals before drawing 2-2 with Al Nassr in the final, eventually overcoming Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. on penalties. They also ended last season with just one clean sheet from their final four games, although they did score in all four, and in fact, haven't been stopped from finding the net since January 15, when they lost 1-0 at Al Kholood.

Match Result - FC FCSB (H) to beat Aberdeen (19:30 BST) @ 4/5

Aberdeen drew 2-2 with FCSB in the first leg of their Uefa Europa League play-off tie at Pittodrie Stadium last Thursday, and face a tough battle to make it to the league phase of the competition, with a daunting trip to Bucharest to come this week.

The Dons were 2-0 down by the 47th minute in Scotland, with Daniel Birligea and Darius Olaru striking for the Romanians, either side of a red card dished out to visiting forward Juri Cisotti.

Jimmy Thelin's side staged a second-half recovery, scoring their first through Dante Polvara before Ester Sokler struck the equaliser in the 90th minute.

Still, it's unlikely to be enough as FCSB are expected to win their home leg at the Arena Nationala.

Aberdeen's away record in Europe is woeful, with the Dons winning just two of their last nine on their travels, and none of their last five. They've already been beaten 2-0 at Hearts this season, and are likely to struggle under the lights in Bucharest.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

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