PAOK is facing what may be its biggest challenge of the year!
Tonight, the “Double-Headed Eagle of the North” will play away against Brann in Bergen, Norway (8:00 p.m.) in the rematch of their 1-1 draw at Toumba Stadium for the Conference League playoffs, with a spot in the League Phase of the competition at stake.
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A week ago, the two teams played to a draw in Thessaloniki, with Alessio Lisi’s squad showing two very different sides. In the first half, the home team was the better side, but they were unable to convert their dominance into goals or a lead. In the second half, the Norwegians stepped up their game and opened the scoring in the 57th minute with a goal by Eriksen, before Baba, in the 80th minute, gave PAOK a “lifeline.”
Now, tonight’s match takes on the character of a “final” for both teams, with the Thessaloniki side’s sole objective being a positive result that will allow them to continue in Europe and in the Old Continent’s third-tier interclub competition. This goal has now become an end in itself for PAOK, as failure to achieve it would deal a major “blow” to the already difficult atmosphere within the club, while it is quite likely—and at the same time logical—that the transfer plans, with summer drawing to a close, will also be affected.
Last Sunday (August 23), the “Double-Headed Eagle of the North” made an impressive start to the Stoiximan Super League season, defeating Levadiakos 4-0 at Toumba thanks to goals by Soretire (36′), Pelka (41′), Mythou (72′), and Zivkovic (89′).
The latter will miss today’s match due to a suspension for the red card he received in the game against Anderlecht in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, with UEFA rejecting the team’s appeal to reduce the suspension. In addition to the Serbian player, Meite and Despodov remain sidelined, as does Madi Camara, who stayed in Thessaloniki due to an injury.
On the other hand, Brann is coming off a comfortable advancement to the second round of the Norwegian Cup following a 4-0 victory on the road against Filingen. It is noteworthy that this match was only the second in their last 19 games across all competitions in which they did not concede a goal. In their domestic league, they are in 6th place with 25 points (8-1-8), and to reach this stage of the Conference League, they eliminated Universitatea Cluj (5-3 on aggregate) and Apollon (4-3 on aggregate) in succession. On the field, the Norwegians will have Igason and Castro available tonight, as well as Holm.
Possible starting lineups:
Brann (Eirik Horneland): Dingeland, De Reve, Knudsen, Pedersen, Soltved, Gudmundsson, Sørensen, Vasberg, Eriksen, Castro, Holm
PAOK (Alesio Lisi): Pavlenka, Kenny, Hatzidiakos, Michailidis, Giannoulis, Zafeiris, Santamaria, Hatzidis, Lousé, Tyson, Mythou
Referee team:
- Referee: John Brooks (England)
- First Assistant Referee: Neil Davis (England)
- Second Assistant Referee: Blake Androbas (England)
- Fourth Official: Thomas Bramal (England)
- VAR: Darren England (England)
- AVAR: Paul Howard (England)
*photo source: CNA
