PAOK Salonika, a familiar name in European football, had high hopes of advancing from the group stage in this year’s Europa League. However, the Greek club currently sits 27th in the standings, putting their chances of qualifying in serious jeopardy.
The team’s campaign started poorly, with three losses in their first four matches, including defeats to Galatasaray (3-1), FCSB (0-1), and Viktoria Plzen (2-2), along with a 2-0 loss to Manchester United.
PAOK did manage to salvage some hope with a 0-2 win over Rigas FC in their latest outing. On the domestic front, however, they are faring much better, sitting in the top three of the Greek league and aiming to close the gap with the leaders when they face Panserraikos next weekend.
Ferencvaros had a rocky start to their European campaign as well, losing to Anderlecht (2-1) and Tottenham (1-2) in their first two matches. They bounced back with three straight victories, overcoming Nice (1-0), Dynamo Kyiv (0-4), and Malmo (4-1), which has helped them rise to 11th in the group, just one point behind 6th place.
In their domestic league, the Hungarian side is second, trailing Puskas FC by only a small margin. After two consecutive draws, Ferencvaros will look to return to winning ways against Debrecen.
PAOK will be missing several key players for this match. Backup goalkeeper Pavlenka and central defender Lovren, who joined from Lyon late in the transfer window, are not included in the squad. Midfielders Schwab and Murg, along with striker Taison, are sidelined due to injury, and Bakayoko will also be absent.
In attack, PAOK will look to Bulgarian forward Despodov (2 goals in the league, 1 in the Europa League), Serbian winger Zivkovic (2 goals), Moroccan forward Tissoudali (2 goals in the league, 1 in the Europa League), and the talented Greek international Konstantelias (21 years old) to carry the offensive load.
Ferencvaros will be without experienced defender Raul Gustavo due to injury, but there are no other major absences. The team has been boosted by the stellar form of Hungarian international Varga, who has scored three league goals and six in the Europa League, including two doubles in recent matches.
Winger Kady Borges, who has contributed two league goals and three assists in the competition, will also be key. Forward Saldanha (5 league goals, 1 in the Europa League) and Traoré (3 league goals, 1 in the Europa League) will also play an important role in the squad for this game.
Prediction
PAOK has been involved in several high-scoring matches in the Europa League, consistently finding the back of the net. Since only one of Ferencvaros’ last 16 Europa League matches has ended in a draw, a goalless stalemate would be a surprise.
Prediction: PAOK 2-2 Ferencvaros
