Can PAOK get revenge?
The new league phase in the international competitions provided plenty of excitement and great conference evenings at the end. The new mode can be celebrated as a complete success. The first knockout matches are now coming up. In the round of 16 of the Europa League, PAOK Thessaloniki will host FCSB Bucharest, among others, and the bookmakers are predicting a win for the hosts. However, this duel took place almost four months ago and the Romanians won in the end.
The home side struggled through the league phase and only qualified for the round of 16 due to their superior goal difference. In the league, the Greeks are on course to qualify for the Championship group, in which the top four teams play for the title. Last weekend, the hosts warmed up for the upcoming clash and conceded five goals to their opponents. However, it won’t be that easy on Thursday. In the match between PAOK Thessaloniki and FCSB Bucharest, odds of 1.75 are offered on the Black & Whites.
The Romanians did better in the league phase and only missed out on a direct place in the round of 16 due to a defeat on the last matchday. Now the extra round has to be turned around and PAOK are an uncomfortable opponent who are favored by the betting providers to progress.
PAOK Thessaloniki – Statistics & current form
PAOK Thessaloniki are the four-time and reigning champions of Greece. Last season, the hosts were already top of the table after the regular double round and after the ten games of the championship round, the Black & Whites maintained their top position and secured the title. This was accompanied by participation in the Champions League qualifiers.
Head coach Razvan Lucescu’s team initially beat Banja Luka, but were eliminated in the semi-finals after extra time against Malmö FF. The consolation was relegation to the Europa League. Only three wins and one point-split were achieved in eight matches. With eight points, Thessaloniki finished in 22nd place, the best team of five clubs with the same number of points.
PAOK is back on course for the championship round
In the Super League, the Greeks are fourth in the table after 22 match days and are well on their way to the final round, in which the champions will be played out. Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus are their biggest rivals.
With 40 goals scored, the Black & Whites have the most dangerous offense in the league. Mady Camara, the man from Guinea, is his team’s most dangerous marksman with six goals. The attacking forces were not quite as accurate on the international stage. With twelve goals, they only managed a mediocre score.
Saloniki with only one home defeat in the Europa League
After two defeats at Real Sociedad (0:2) and against AEK Athens (1:2), the hosts returned to winning ways last weekend. The Greeks warmed up for their next tasks with a 5:0 win in Crete. In the Europa League, the Black & Whites only conceded one defeat in front of their own fans. However, this was against their upcoming opponents from Romania. Nevertheless, Thessaloniki are favored. Odds of 1.75 are being paid for bets on the hosts in the match between POAK Thessaloniki and FCSB Bucharest.
Foreseen line-up of PAOK Thessaloniki:
FCSB Bucharest – Statistics & current form
FCSB Bucharest is extremely successful at national level with 27 championship titles and 24 cup wins. On the international stage, winning the European Cup in 1986 was the absolute highlight. Last year, Ros-Albastrii won the championship by three points ahead of CFR Cluj after the championship round. The Romanians are also at the top of the table this season.
Four days before the end of the regular double round, the visitors have twelve wins and ten draws to their name. With 46 points, the Blue & Reds are top of the table, closely followed by three teams just one point behind. This promises to be an exciting championship round.
Bukarest narrowly miss out on the round of 16
In the Europa League, the visitors were eleventh in the league after eight match days. A defeat on the final matchday against Manchester United (0:2) prevented them from advancing directly to the round of 16. A total of 14 points were collected through four wins and two draws, four more than their upcoming opponents.
The good defense, which only conceded nine goals, was mostly convincing. That is just over one goal per game and the seventh-best figure in the 36-team Europa League. In the domestic league, head coach Elias Charalampous’ team even conceded less than one goal per game. On the international stage, the offense was rather restrained and netted only ten times.
Bukarest looks back on successful weeks
The FCSB lost only one of the last seven competitive games. The visitors are unbeaten in ten matches in the Romanian Super League. However, the Romanians now face a slightly different test with PAOK. In the match between PAOK Thessaloniki and FCSB Bucharest, odds of 5.00 are on offer for bets on the Blue and Reds.
The Ros-Albastrii have done well on their opponents’ pitch in the Europa League and have only come away empty-handed once. The aim now is to put themselves in a good position for the second leg in Greece.
Predicted FCSB Bucharest line-up:
PAOK Thessaloniki – FCSB Bucharest Head-to-head / H2H record
The first time the two teams have met in a competitive match. The teams faced each other in the league phase of the current Europa League. The Romanians surprisingly won the encounter in Thessaloniki 1:0, so there is still something for the hosts to put right. In their predictions, the bookmakers see the better odds for the Greeks in the match between PAOK Thessaloniki and FCSB Bucharest at odds of 1.75 at the top.
PAOK Thessaloniki – FCSB Bucharest betting tip
The first legs of the round of 16 are on the program this week. In the clash between Thessaloniki and Bucharest, the Greeks are considered to have the better chances of progressing. This is not initially borne out by their performance in the league phase, in which the Romanians fared better and finished ahead of the Black & Whites.
The only head-to-head between these two teams also went to the visitors. In October, the Blue & Reds won 1:0 against Lucescu’s side. So the question is which team will have the best starting position for the second leg. The visitors certainly won’t have to take any risks, as the game will not be decided until next week in front of their own fans.
We expect an encounter in which both teams will approach each other cautiously. The hosts are likely to be warned by their first-round match and the Romanians will focus on defense to put themselves in a good position for the second leg. Accordingly, we expect few goals and recommend betting on a duel with a maximum of two goals in the match between PAOK Thessaloniki and FCSB Bucharest at odds of 1.78 with the tested bookmaker NEO.bet.
We believe that it will be a close decision as to who advances. We don’t see any clear advantages for either team. That’s why we alternatively place a small bet on the double chance X/2 in the match PAOK Saloniki vs FCSB Bucharest at odds of 2.15.
