PAOK has now turned the page and is entering a new era, that of Alessio Lisi, with the Italian coach having taken the reins of the team following Razvan Lucescu’s departure from the “black-and-white” bench.

In the team’s first showing, a 4-1 friendly win over Beveren—and despite the fact that many young players from the academy took the field— the “Double-Headed Eagle of the North” dominated and left a positive impression.

On Saturday afternoon (July 4, 3:30 p.m.), Lisi’s team will take the field once again for a friendly match, once more against a Belgian team, this time facing Westerlo.

Against Beveren, PAOK looked particularly eager, with different standout players in each half, as Lisi fielded two starting lineups—one for each 45-minute half.

In the first half, Giannis Konstantelias did whatever he wanted on the field, both creatively and in terms of finishing, while a new twist the Italian coach has added to the team’s play is that the Greek superstar takes the corner kicks.

In the second half, Christos Zafeiris clearly stood out with the relentless pressure he applied to the opposing defense. After all, it was precisely in this way that the international midfielder found the back of the net on two occasions (51’ and 60’), though he certainly took advantage of the Belgians’ costly mistakes as well.

Now Lissi has the opportunity to try out new things and, above all, new players, so he can determine early on which academy players he can count on for the new season that’s about to begin, while the Italian coach certainly wants to gradually incorporate his own ideas into the team’s style of play.

On the training front, Dimitris Hatzidis participated normally in the team’s program. Kiril Despodov continued his rehabilitation program, while Sola Soretire and Soualiho Meité once again followed individual training programs. Fedor Chalov felt discomfort in his knee following an injury sustained in Wednesday’s friendly against Beveren and will undergo tests to assess his condition. Jiri Pavlenka, who continues to experience discomfort, will also undergo tests. Andrija Živković and Dimitris Pelkas followed a light training program.

As for the opponent of the “Double-Headed Eagle of the North,” Westerlo finished in 9th place in the Belgian league standings last year.

Probable starting lineup:

PAOK (A. Lisi): Tsiftsis, Kenny, Bataoulas, Kosidis, Taylor, Tsopouroglu, Kamara, Balde, Konstantelias, Berdos, Mythou.

*photo source: PAOK FC / PAOK FC