Izzy Christiansen
Former England midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

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Amad Diallo has looked bright in these opening exchanges.

Man Utd building from the back in a back three. Noussair Mazraoui is getting high up the pitch close to Diallo - that's clearly a tactic from Ruud van Nistelrooy.

A bright start from Manchester United.

Hearts and Heidenheim have both won their opening two games in the Europa Conference League.

Will one of them taste defeat for the first time tonight? Or are we set for a draw?

The Hearts fans are making their voices heard already at Tynecastle.

Manchester United start by knocking the ball around the back. PAOK are more than happy to let them have it.

We're under way at Windsor Park, with a large away following from the Swiss side making their presence felt.

Will either side manage to get their first win in the competition tonight?

You can follow minute-by-minute updates of the game here.

For the record, you can also get dedicated Hearts v Heidenheim updates here - although, of course, we're covering all seven British sides on this page for you this evening.

We're off, goals please!

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The players are out at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge. It's almost time.

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Swiss Super League side St Gallen were founded 145 years ago and are one of the oldest teams in Switzerland.

They have won the Swiss Super League on two occasions, most recently in 2000 but were runner's up in the Covid-hit 2019-20 season.

St Gallen qualified for Europe by finishing fifth in the Swiss Super League last season, which meant they were the final team to secure a spot in the Uefa Conference League.

The have a number of famous results in their European history, most notably when they knocked Chelsea out of the Uefa Cup with a 2-1 aggregate win in 2000.

Enrico Maassen is their manager and they are captained by Lukas Goertler, who came through the ranks at Bayern Munich.

They also have a number of internationals in their team, including Ghana duo Lawrence Ati-Zigi and Stephan Ambrosius, DR Congo's Chadrac Akolo and forward Kevin Csoboth, who was in Hungary's Euro 2024 squad.

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Larne manager Tiernan Lynch hopes his team can bounce back from their 4-1 defeat by Shamrock Rovers when they face St Gallen in the Uefa Conference League match at Windsor Park on Thursday night.

It was a humbling 90 minutes for the Premiership champions in the north v south showdown with the League of Ireland side in Belfast a fortnight ago.

"We now have to go out and put the Rovers [defeat] right - we were hugely disappointed in that game," said Lynch.

"We feel we let ourselves down and the league down. That's not something we're going to take lightly."

Larne are the first Irish League club to reach the group or league stage of a major Uefa competition.

They started their campaign with a 3-0 defeat by Molde before again losing to Rovers by a three-goal margin and sit bottom of the Conference League standings.

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Tonight's encounter at Windsor Park sees bottom club Larne host second from bottom St Gallen.

Both sides have lost their opening two fixtures and both have a -6 goal difference.

Remaining in Europe beyond Christmas already looks like a very tally order for Larne, albeit with four games still to play, and boss Tiernan Lynch has talked up the strength of their Swiss visitors.

"St Gallen are a top, top side - we've watched them over three to four games and they have top players," Lynch said.

"We know it's going to be a great atmosphere with the fans that they bring with them."

• Hearts have won three and lost six of their nine matches against German opposition, while Heidenheim have never previously faced a Scottish side.
• Hearts have won three and lost two of their home games against German visitors, losing the most recent - 1-0 to Schalke 04 in the 2004 Uefa Cup group stage.
• Cassio Lincoln scored Schalke's winner at Murrayfield Stadium after Hearts' Patrick Kisnorbo was sent off.
• Hearts last defeated a German side in the 2000 Uefa Cup, when the Edinburgh side beat Stuttgart, who finished with nine men, 3-2 but went out on away goals.

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Hearts only appointed coach Neil Critchley on 15 October following Steven Naismith's dismissal.

Critchley, who was sacked by League One club Blackpool on 21 August, has made a positive start to life in Edinburgh.

He has tasted defeat just once in five matches across all competitions, winning three and drawing one.

This will be Critchley's second experience of Europe with the Scottish club, leading them to a 2-0 win against Omonia Nicosia at Tynecastle last month.

With the top eight sides progressing to the last 16 and those placed from 9th to 24th entering the play-off round, Hearts, who are sixth, are in a strong position to reach the knockout stages.

Critchley, though, says he has not looked at how many points the club might need to get through and secure European football after Christmas for the first time since 1989.

"I'm not sure how far [we can go], but we've made a good start and we have to capitalise on that," Critchley said.

"It would be foolish to start looking ahead and planning ahead. Hopefully, the supporters are doing that for some of their away trips, but for us, we're solely focused on Thursday night and the job we've got in front of us."

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Hearts coach Neil Critchley has stressed the importance of having a very strong mentality in order to get the better of Bundesliga club Heidenheim tonight.

The Scottish outfit are seeking to maintain their 100% record in the Conference League.

Hearts are second bottom in the Scottish Premiership, but have looked a different beast in Europe - beating Dinamo Minsk and Omonia Nicosia.

Heidenheim also have a perfect record in the competition after wins against Olimpija Ljubljana and Pafos.

Frank Schmidt's side are playing in European competition for the first time ever, having finished eighth last season in their maiden Bundesliga campaign.

Schmidt, 50, has been in charge of the club for 17 years having steered them from the fifth tier of German football to the top flight.

"Heidenheim, because they're used to winning games and having success, they know how to manage games very well, winning or losing," Critchley said.

“They have a maturity in how they play the game. We have to make sure that, yes, we want to play with emotion, we want to play with intensity, we want to get the supporters behind us, but also we have to manage periods of the game."

Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport

A new team named after a biblical character with input from Portugal legend Luis Figo, it is fair to say Chelsea will not face many more interesting opponents this season.

Armenian outfit FC Noah come to Stamford Bridge for Thursday's Conference League league phase tie having made history to even be there.

Of the 50 clubs in the first qualifying round they were the only one to make the play-offs - and they went one step further by reaching the tournament proper.

They scored 18 goals in qualifying, including goalkeeper Ognjen Cancarevic registering with a long clearance against AEK Athens, and an 88th-minute winner with 10 men after blowing a 3-0 aggregate lead in their play-off.

The Yerevan side have beaten Czechs Mlada Boleslav 2-0 and lost 1-0 at Rapid Vienna in their two league games to get them dreaming of the knockout rounds.

Chelsea

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Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea are "one team, one squad" despite effectively naming two different sides for games in Europe and the Premier League.

Last month, Blues boss Maresca made 11 changes for the Uefa Conference League game with Panathinaikos, a fixture Chelsea won 4-1 to go top of the standings after two games.

They then made 10 changes for the visit of Newcastle three days later and won that game 2-1.

Chelsea host Armenians FC Noah on Thursday and Maresca is once again expected to make wholesale changes.

"We make changes because we have 24, 25 players, all fit, all good enough to play different competitions," Maresca said.

"The season is so long, we have so many games," he added. "And for sure, all of them, they are going to play Conference League and Premier League games or FA Cup, the next one.

Eni Aluko
Former England forward on TNT Sports

I feel sorry for Will Lankshear. The pressure of the occasion and I feel bad that he got sent off. It could have been a good night for him.

Peter Crouch
Ex-England striker on TNT Sports

It should have been easier for Galatasaray. They had so many chances and they had an unbelievable start.

Joe Cole
Ex-Chelsea and England midfielder on TNT Sports

It was wild from start to finish. Dragusin had a night to forget. Osimhen was outstanding, he delivered.

After Dominic Solanke's goal you have to give Tottenham massive credit. They kept going and things been labelled against his group of players, but I would take this from the game.

BBC Sounds

We're live on BBC Sounds!

Eleanor Oldroyd presents alongside special guest and former Manchester United first-team coach Rene Meulensteen.

Full commentary of Manchester United v PAOK gets under way from 20:00 GMT. Click the top of this page to get listening.

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Former Manchester United academy graduate, Shola Shoretire returns to Old Trafford this evening with Greek side, PAOK.

Shoretire left Man Utd earlier this year after his contract expired.

During Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure Shoretire became United’s youngest ever player to feature in a European competition as they played Real Sociedad in the Europa League during the 2020-21 campaign.

The 20-year-old struggled for first team opportunities during his time with the Red Devils and only played three times in the Premier League.

However, Shoretire confirmed in the press conference that he would not celebrate if he managed to get on the scoresheet tonight.

He said: “I still respect United for everything they’ve done for me and I wouldn’t be in this position without them.”

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter at Old Trafford

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Ruud van Nistelrooy has referenced new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim in his programme notes ahead of this evening's Europa League tie with PAOK.

Van Nistelrooy is yet to speak to the Portuguese coach, who will arrive in England early next week. There is also no clarity over whether the former United striker will return to his assistant manager role once his four-match stint as interm boss is over.

"There is a sense of excitement around the club as we prepare to welcome Ruben Amorim next week," said Van Nistelrooy.

"Until then it will be my continued privilege to manage the team.

"In my two games so far I have felt a lot of love from the stands. I know how much energy this gives me and the players, so we need to keep this connection going.

"If we all keep pulling together and reaching for our highest levels in every game, we will move in the right direction - I am certain of that."