Anderlecht welcome PAOK Thessaloniki FC to Lotto Park in Brussels for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie on Thursday. The first leg at Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki ended 1-0 to Anderlecht thanks to a first-minute goal from Mihajlo Cvetkovic.
That result puts Anderlecht in a positive position ahead of this second leg at home for the Belgian club.
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De Mauve finished last season’s Belgian Pro League in fourth place, earning them a place in the second round of the Europa League qualifiers, where they were drawn to face Swedish side Hammarby FF.
Vítor Bruno’s side won 4-2 on aggregate, drawing 1-1 in the first leg in Sweden before securing a 3-1 victory at home.
Anderlecht are very experienced at this level, having played 41 seasons in the UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup, and winning the UEFA Cup title back in the 1982-83 season, beating Benfica 2-1 on aggregate in a two-legged final.
Meanwhile, PAOK Thessaloniki FC finished third last season in the Greek Super League, securing Europa League qualification with 64 points from 32 matches.
They entered the qualifiers in the second round, defeating Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv 5-2 on aggregate thanks to a 3-2 win away and a 2-0 victory at home.
Alessio Lisci’s team will be determined to make a comeback after losing the first leg of this tie at home, as they hope to qualify for the league phase/group stage of the tournament for the 13th time.
The winning side in this tie will advance to the UEFA Europa League play-off round, while the losers will drop to the UEFA Conference League play-off round.
Anderlecht vs PAOK Thessaloniki FC head-to-head stats and key numbers
- Anderlecht and PAOK Thessaloniki FC have played each other twice before, once in a friendly and once in competitive action.
- Last week’s 1-0 win for Anderlecht was their first competitive match, but they had played a friendly back in June 2018, which the Greek and Belgian sides drew 2-2.
- Anderlecht have won the Europa League’s predecessor, the UEFA Cup, back in 1983, while PAOK have never won Europe’s second-tier club competition.
Anderlecht vs PAOK Thessaloniki FC prediction
Anderlecht will rely on their superior European pedigree to settle into the match, while their 1-0 advantage from the first leg means that PAOK will need to be aggressive if they are to have a chance of overturning the deficit.
If the Greeks push forward in search of goals, they could leave space behind their defensive line, and the Belgians will try to take advantage of that vulnerability.
We expect Anderlecht to secure a second-leg win and passage to the Europa League play-off round.
Prediction: Anderlecht 1-0 PAOK Thessaloniki FC
Anderlecht vs PAOK Thessaloniki FC betting tips
Tip 1: Anderlecht to win
Tip 2: Anderlecht to keep a clean sheet
Tip 3: Under 2.5 goals
Edited by Peter Pedroncelli