PAOK ready to defeat Turkish rivals in Thessaloniki

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND

AGONAsport previews the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round battle between PAOK and Besiktas at the Toumba Stadium.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV! 

PAOK are ready for another shot at qualifying for the Champions League group phase. Last season, their hopes of finishing second in the Super League seemed dead and buried after receiving a seven-point deduction from the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO), but the Dikefalos tou Vorra subsequently manage to overtake AEK thanks to a crucial 1-0 victory at Olympiacos and the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to overturn the EPO’s punishment. PAOK will now have to pass through three rounds of qualifying if they are to reach the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in history.

Due to the tight schedule, the first, second and third qualifying rounds of the Champions League will all be decided in just the one match instead of the normal two-legged format. The draw determined that PAOK will be the hosts for their tie against Besiktas.

The game will take place behind closed doors in Thessaloniki.

Naturally, as a result of the new system, the away goals rule has been scrapped for the first three qualifying rounds of the competition. A draw will send the match into extra time.

In normal circumstances, Trabzonspor would have qualified for the Champions League after they claimed second spot of the 2019/2020 Super Lig, but they were disqualified from UEFA competitions after breaching Financial Fair Play rules. Besiktas sneaked past Sivasspor in the concluding round of play to snatch a Champions League berth.

“Some people are trying to turn this match into a political duel, but we are a football team,” stated Besiktas president Ahmet Nur Cebi when asked to react to recent comments made by PAOK boss Ivan Savvidis. “They cannot scare us with other types of pressure. We are Besiktas and we are courageous. If Allah allows it, we will send a letter to PAOK about the importance of the brotherhood between our two clubs, we have the same colours and we both use the eagle as our symbol. We will play our game against PAOK.”

TEAM NEWS

PAOK

The two main absentees for PAOK are centre-back Enea Mihaj and right-back Leo Matos. As usual, Ferreira is expected to play with three defenders, with full-backs Dimitris Giannoulis and Rodrigo Soares adding significant attacking threat on the wings. Either Chuba Akpom or Karol Swiderski will lead the line.

Possible line-up: Paschalakis, Michailidis, Varela, Ingason, Giannoulis, Rodrigo, Esiti, Schwab, Biseswar, Tzolis, Akpom.

BESIKTAS

In welcoming news to PAOK fans, Serbian star Adem Ljalic has remained in Turkey, meaning that Besiktas will have to compete against the Dikefalos tou Vorra without their most important player.

Hit by financial problems, this Besiktas team doesn’t contain many big names, although 2018 FIFA World Cup finalist Domagoj Vida and Dutch winger Jeremain Lens are recognisable faces to followers of European football.

Lens, most comfortable in attack, is predicted to play at right-back against PAOK.

Loanees Loris Karius (Liverpool) and Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) left Besiktas this summer.

New signings Welinton (defender), Bernard Mensah (midfielder) and Fabrice N’Sakala (defender) have all made the trip to Greece.

Besiktas have been coached by 47-year-old Sergen Yalcin since January. His preferred formation is 4-2-3-1.

Possible line-up: Ersin, N’Sakala, Vida, Welinton, Lens, Hutchinson, Mensah, Nkoudou, Boyd, Tokoz, Larin.

REFEREE: DANIELE DOVERE (ITA)

Doveri, 42, will take charge of proceedings in Greece. In the 2019/2020 campaign, the Italian referee oversaw two matches in Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifying, while also working in 18 Serie A games. Interestingly, in October 2018, he refereed the Aris - PAOK (1-2) derby in the Super League.

It’s worth noting that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will not be used for this match.

Assistant referees: Matteo Passeri (ITA), Dario Cecconi (ITA)

Fourth official: Gianpaolo Calvarese (ITA)

Image Source: sport-fm.gr

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest news in Greek Sports!