Possible Champions League opponents for AEK and PAOK
Ahead of the concluding two rounds of the Super League playoffs, AGONAsport looks at the possible opponents for either AEK or PAOK in the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round.
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It certainly promises to be a nail biting end to the Super League campaign. Following their legal victory in the courts and a crucial victory against Olympiacos at the Karaiskakis Stadium, PAOK are now in pole position for second, possessing a three-point lead against AEK with two games remaining. The top two positions of the 2019/2020 Super League grant berths in the 2020/2021 Champions League preliminaries.
However, if AEK beat PAOK at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday and subsequently defeat Olympiacos on the final matchday, they will finish in second place as a consequence of their superior head-to-head record with the Dikefalos tou Vorra. AEK will only have to match PAOK’s result against Aris in the 10th round of the playoffs if they emerge victorious in Athens today.
As champions of the Super League, Olympiacos will enter the Champions League in the third qualifying round, but the runners-up will have to begin their journey in the second qualification phase of the competition.
Single matches will decide the outcomes of the first, second and third qualifying rounds, before the familiar two-legged format returns for the playoffs. There are the qualification dates:
18/08/2020–19/08/2020 First qualifying round
25/08/2020–26/08/2020 Second qualifying round
15/09/2020–16/09/2020 Third qualifying round
22/09/2020–30/09/2020 Play-offs
Let’s take a look at the possible opponents for PAOK and AEK respectively in the second qualifying round:
IF PAOK QUALIFY
PAOK, holding 21,000 UEFA coefficient points, will be seeded for the second qualifying round draw alongside Viktoria Plzen and Rapid Vienna assuming Trabzonspor finish the 2019/2020 Turkish Super Lig season in second place and overturn their European ban for Financial Fair Play (FFP) violations. The fact that Manchester City have managed to reverse their ban has raised hope in Trabzon that they will also be granted entry to 2020/2021 European competitions.
Trabzonspor are currently four points behind leaders Basaksehir and five ahead of Sivasspor. In the event that Sivasspor qualify for the Champions League, PAOK will still be seeded; both Trabzonspor and Sivasspor only have 6,720 coefficient points.
In the event that Besiktas overtake Sivasspor, and Trabzonspor are banned, then the capital club will be seeded instead of PAOK as they boast 54,000 coefficient points. Galatasaray (23,500) would also knock PAOK down to the unseeded pile.
If PAOK are seeded for the second qualifying round draw, they will be eligible to play against AZ Alkmaar, Trabzonspor/Sivasspor and the second-placed team from Croatia (Osijek, Lokomotiva, Rijeka and Hajduk Split are all in the running for second position of the Croatian league). However, if PAOK aren’t seeded, they will be in line to compete against one of Viktoria Plzen, Rapid Vienna and Besiktas/Galatasaray.
IF AEK QUALIFY
With only 16,500 UEFA coefficient points on the board, AEK are already guaranteed to be unseeded for the second qualifying round if they make the Champions League, as Viktoria Plzen (34,000), Rapid Vienna (22,000) and AZ Alkmaar (18,500) are all ranked higher. AZ will only fall into the unseeded category if Besiktas or Galatasaray qualify for the Champions League.
So, if AEK do manage to overtake PAOK and claim second spot of the 2019/2020 Super League playoffs, they will play against either Viktoria Plzen, Rapid Vienna, AZ or Besiktas/Galatasaray in the second qualifying phase of the Champions League. Trabzonspor and Sivasspor will also be unseeded if they make the tournament.
Sivasspor are one point ahead of Besiktas and five ahead of Galatasaray with two rounds remaining of the Super Lig.
