PAOK looking to get off the mark in the UEFA Europa League
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 2
| Bate Borisov | 22:00 (GR) | PAOK |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, 4-Oct |
PAOK travel to Belarus to take on BATE Borisov in a crucial Group L duel for matchday two of the UEFA Europa League. AGONAsport’s Athan Stylos previews the encounter.
BATE Borisov have made a terrific start to their UEFA Europa League campaign, easily accounting for Hungarian outfit Vidi 0:2 away from home on matchday one, despite being reduced to ten men in the match. Their form has been consistent throughout the 2018/19 league campaign as they currently occupy top spot in the Belarus Premier League.
It was a different story for PAOK in their UEFA Europa League opener, going down 0:1 to competition favourites Chelsea at the Toumba Stadium. Chelsea dominated the match and PAOK were lucky to still be in the game, managing to create a couple of late chances to steal a point from the match. Thursday’s clash is important for both clubs, who will be aiming to finish in at least second place in Group L and advance to the knockout stages.
Throughout the month of September, PAOK have played consecutive games against tough opponents including Chelsea, AEK Athens, ARIS, and Olympiacos. PAOK are coming off a good run of form as they currently sit in top spot in the Greek Super League after snatching a 0:1 victory over Olympiacos in the derby on the weekend.
TEAM NEWS: BATE BORISOV
BATE will be without reliable Serbian left-back Aleksandar Filipovic who was sent off for a second yellow card during BATE’s 0:2 away victory to Hungarian champions Vidi in matchday one. It is expected that experienced 31-year-old defender Alexei Rios will fill the void.
Potential lineup: Scherbitsky, Polyanko, Milunovic, Filipenko, Rios, Yablonski, Baga, Dragun, Ivanic, Stasevich, Tuominen
TEAM NEWS: PAOK
PAOK are coming off a very busy schedule and have managed to string together some good results. Razvan Lucescu hinted that there could be changes made to the team that defeated Olympiacos over the weekend, due to challenging schedule in recent weeks and tough schedule ahead.
The Romanian technician is considering resting club captain, Adelino Vieirinha, as well as Dutch winger Diego Biseswar. The replacements for those two players will be Romanian left back Alin Tosca and Brazilian live wire Leo Jaba.
Potential lineup: Paschalakis, Matos, Varela, Crespo, Tosca, Canas, Mauricio, Pelkas, Jaba, Limnios, Prijovic
REFEREE: Robert Schorghofer (Austria)
UEFA have appointed Austrian referee Robert Schorghofer in charge of the Group L encounter between BATE and PAOK in Belarus. PAOK will travel for the second time in their history to Belarus for a European match. The first time PAOK played in Belarus was in a dominant display back in November 2014, where they defeated Dinamo Minsk 0:2 with Stefanos Athanasiadis scoring a double for the Greeks. Ironically, Schorghofer was referee for that match.
The 45-year-old Austrian became an international referee back in 2007 and in the summer of 2011, he was promoted to the Elite Development category of UEFA by refereeing in two international tournaments, in the final phase of the Euro U21’s, as well as the final round of the U20 World Cup.
In September of 2012, he was appointed to his first ever UEFA Champions League fixture. Apart from refereeing PAOK, in the past he also officiated Panathinaikos’ 0:3 away loss to Lazio in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League.
