Vitoria wary of PAOK, Lucescu full of belief

Benfica manager Rui Vitoria is wary of PAOK’s abilities ahead of the UEFA Champions League playoff round, while visiting coach Razvan Lucescu respects the opponents but believes his side can win.

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After defeating Basel 5:1 and Spartak Moscow 3:2 in impressive fashion, PAOK have been rewarded with a Champions League playoff tie against Portuguese giants Benfica, who managed to edge past Fenerbahce 2:1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round. On the face of it, it’s a testing challenge for a PAOK team which has never competed in the group stages of Europe’s elite competition, but it’s a golden opportunity for the Dikefalos tou Vorra to write a new chapter in their history books.

Before the first leg in Lisbon, Benfica’s Rui Vitoria noted the quality which PAOK possess and isn’t underestimating the Greeks:

PAOK’s potential: “Tomorrow, we will face a strong opponent which has already knocked out two quality teams. PAOK’s domestic championship hasn’t even started yet. They managed to beat Basel 3:0 in Switzerland and hold Spartak to a 0:0 draw in Russia, so we know that we’ll play a great club. No one thinks that PAOK are weaker than Fenerbahce.”

Focus for the first match: “Fernando Varela said the teams’ chances are 50/50 and their Swedish player stated that Benfica aren’t a big club anymore? Benfica won the European Cup in the past and constantly compete in this tournament! PAOK have ambition and our focus is to create problems for them and make their life difficult.”

Injury problems: “I can confirm that Jonas and Nicolas Castillo will not participate in tomorrow’s match. On the other hand, we believe that Andre Almeida will be ready to play.”

Opponents’ most dangerous players: “They have experienced defenders, high level midfielders and Aleksandar Prijovic is 191 cm tall. Dimitris Pelkas is a Greek international and we remember when he played in Portugal.”
 

PAOK’s Razvan Lucescu understands the difficulties awaiting his team but has the aim of gaining an advantage at the Estadio De Luz:

Favourite for Tuesday’s duel: “I don’t want to talk about favourites. Benfica have a really strong team, but we also want to qualify for the Champions League group stages. We’re ready for this challenge. We know the difficulties we will face and the opponents’ capabilities, but these situations make you raise your own level.”

Benfica’s qualities: “What did the analysis of Benfica show us? We respect the Portuguese club for the quality and history which they have, however we’re highly confident in our mentality and we are ready to fight with or without the ball. Benfica like to have possession, they attack with speed but we can offer something too.”

Readiness of Pontus Wernbloom and his exclusion from the squad: “After the national teams break, he will be ready to play.”
 

By Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: sportfm.gr

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