Europa League Preview: PAOK vs Ferencvaros
- FIy999 2024/12/12 02:56
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PAOK aim to move into the Europa League qualification playoff spots when they host Ferencvaros in Thursday's matchday six encounter at Toumba Stadium.
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Although PAOK have had a wretched Europa League campaign, Dikefalos tou Vorra notched their first win against Latvian side RFS on matchday five, leaving Razvan Lucescu's men just outside the playoff places.
That triumph ended an extended six-match run without success in European competition, and the Greek side aim for consecutive wins on the continent for the first time since December 2023.
Aspromavri have four points from an available 15, meaning maximum points cannot take them into the league's top eight, with Rangers (10 points) six points ahead in the table, but they could rise into the knockout phase playoff spots with several teams two points clear (Roma and Besiktas) or a point above them (Porto and Union Saint-Gilloise).
However, the White-Blacks must end a three-match winless sequence against Hungarian opposition, playing out two draws with Debrecen in the 2003-04 UEFA Cup and suffering losses to Fehervar in the 2018-19 Europa League.
They enter Thursday's match full of goalscoring confidence, having netted seven in the Greek Cup thrashing of Egaleo (7-1) on December 4 and four in the league success at Panserraikos (4-1) four days later.
It will be interesting to see if Lucescu's team emerge with maximum points against a side that enter matchday six on a run of three consecutive victories, defeating Ligue 1 side Nice (1-0), Dynamo Kyiv (4-0) and Malmo (4-1).
FTC and Fradi's ongoing run is the club's longest sequence of European victories in over 50 years when they claimed six on the trot in the 1967-68 Fairs Cup to advance to the competition's final, ultimately losing to Leeds United.
Scoring four in consecutive games has taken the Hungarian club to 11 goals heading into Thursday's visit to Thessaloniki, two fewer than the competition's leading scorers, Galatasaray (13).
Pascal Jansen's men have nine points, one adrift of the guaranteed qualification places, and beating PAOK could take them into the coveted positions, with the 11th-placed side possibly rising above all the teams above them except the league's top three clubs: Lazio, Athletic Club and Eintracht Frankfurt (all three have 13 points).
That outcome is contingent on snapping a three-match losing run against Greek clubs, including both matches against Olympiacos in last season's UEFA Conference League, failing to score in both games against the eventual champions.
PAOK possible starting lineup:
Kotarski; Jonny, Kedziora, Michailidis, Baba; Ozdoev, Camara; Despodov, Konstantelias, Taison; Chalov
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Makreckis, Gartenmann, Cisse, Ramirez; Fani, Maiga; Saldanha, Romdhane, Traore; Pesic
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