There is also a Premier League connection in the squad. Ibrahim Ayew, who is expected to line up at right-back, is the older half-brother of Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew and Le Havre’s Andre Ayew, previously of Swansea, West Ham and Nottingham Forest.
Like Jordan and Andrew, Ibrahim has been capped by Ghana and while he was part of their 2010 World Cup squad, he did not feature in the Black Stars’ run to the quarter-finals.
Larne will be familiar with winger Julian Valarino, whose goal for St Joseph’s knocked them out of the Conference League two years ago, while Tjay De Barr is another one for the Inver Reds to look out for.
De Barr’s quality was on show against Dinamo Minsk last week, his excellent half-volley from the edge of the area giving the Gibraltarians hope of winning the tie.
The 24-year-old forward was previously with Wycombe Wanderers, making 33 appearances in League One after joining in 2021 before returning to the Red Imps at the start of this year.
Given their defeat by St Joseph’s in 2022 and Derry City’s loss to Bruno’s Magpies earlier this summer, Larne will know not to underestimate a side from Gibraltar.
While Larne boss Tiernan Lynch last week lost a key player with Lee Bonis’ departure to Ado Den Haag, his hand has been strengthened significantly by the arrivals of Jordan McEneff and Benji Magee from Derry and Loughgall.
With their 1-0 win over Ballkani in Pristina, Larne have already proved that they can win away from home in Europe this summer.
The temperature in Faro is forecast to be 26C at kick-off, so the conditions will be challenging for the Irish Premiership side, but if they pull off a positive result on Thursday they will have the chance to make history in front of their own fans next week.
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