PAOK vs FC Midtjylland Match Analysis and Prediction

4 years ago 635

PAOK will welcome FC Midtjylland to the Stadio Tumbas for the second leg of their Europa Conference League playoff tie on Thursday.

The hosts will be looking to overturn 1-0 first-leg defeat and progress to the last 16 in European competition for the first time in over 40 years, while the visitors are hoping to reach the same stage for the first time in their history.

PAOK saw their 14-game unbeaten run across all competitions come to an end, when they suffered a narrow defeat in the first leg to Midtjylland last week.

Razvan Lucescu’s side are now winless in their last 15 European knockout matches, drawing seven and losing eight, with the last victory coming back in October 2003 when they won 3-0 away against Lyn in the UEFA Cup.

The White-Blacks played out a goalless draw against Aris in the Super League last weekend, a result which has seen them move further behind league leaders Olympiacos, who now have an 11-point lead at the top with only three games remaining.

Midtjylland had not played a competitive match for 66 days before their first-leg win over PAOK, with the Superliga taking their winter break in mid-December, and Bo Henriksen will have been delighted with his team’s performance last week.

However, the Wolves have never won the second of any of their previous six European knockout ties, drawing once and losing five, including a 5-1 defeat to Manchester United in their most recent tie in February 2016.

Midtjylland also head into Thursday’s contest after losing 2-0 at home to Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga, a result which has extended their winless league run to four games and has seen them knocked off their perch at the top by Copenhagen, who now sit above them at the summit by one point.

PAOK VS FC Midtjylland head to head

The two sides have previously met only on one occasion in the first leg of the Europa Conference League, where Midtjylland took a 1-0 home win.

Midtjylland 1-0 PAOK 17/02/22

PAOK latest home form

PAOK have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in any of their ten most recent matches. Their last home defeat came on November 28 when they lost 1-0 to Aris. In their last five matches, they have scored 7 goals and conceded just 2.

PAOK 3-0 OFI 15/01/22

PAOK 0-0 AEK Athens 19/01/22

PAOK 1-1 Olympiakos 30/01/22

PAOK 2-1 Panathinaikos 06/02/22

PAOK 1-0 Atromitos 13/02/22

PAOK latest away form

PAOK recently lost 1-0 to Midtjylland in the Europa Conference League. However, they have recently been on a good run of form on the road, as they have lost just one of their last six matches. In their last five matches, they have won three, drawn one and lost one.

Volos NFC 0-4 PAOK 23/01/22

Apollon Smirnis 0-2 PAOK 02/02/22

AEK Athens 1-2 PAOK 09/02/22

Midtjylland 1-0 PAOK 17/02/22

Aris 0-0 PAOK 20/02/22

FC Midtjylland latest home form

Midtjylland have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, as they have lost two of their five most recent matches. However, they recently defeated Valerenga 3-1 in The Atlantic Cup. In their last five matches, they have scored 12 goals and conceded 7 in the process.

Midtjylland 5-1 Esbjerg 21/01/22

Midtjylland 3-3(P) Breidablik 06/02/22

Midtjylland 3-1 Valerenga 11/02/22

Midtjylland 1-0 PAOK 17/02/22

Midtjylland 0-2 AaB 20/02/22

FC Midtjylland latest away form

Despite losing their last away game 1-0 to Zenit in The Atlantic Cup, Midtjylland have recently been on a good form on the road, having been unbeaten in four matches prior to that. In their five most recent matches, they have won two, drawn two and lost one in the process.

Vejle 1-1 Midtjylland 29/11/21

Brondby 0-2 Midtjylland 05/12/21

Ludogorets 0-0 Midtjylland 09/12/21

Hamburg 1-5 Midtjylland 28/01/22

Zenit 1-0 Midtjylland 03/02/22

PAOK news

PAOK will welcome back Giannis Michalidis as he has served his three-game suspension, and he is set to start at centre-back alongside Jose Angel Crespo.

Both Thomas Murg and Jasmin Kurtic missed the first leg with minor injuries, but Kurtic could feature in midweek, with Antonio Colak being in contention.

FC Midtjylland news

Max Meyer will be pushing to start his first game for Midtjylland since joining on loan from Fenerbahce last month, but Raphael Onyedika and Evander are likely to start in centre-midfield.

Pione Sisto is expected to lead the line in attack, with Junior Brumado and Gustav Isaksen providing support in the final third.

Prediction and Odds

We are expecting a tightly fought contest on Thursday, with neither team being in free-scoring form in their recent fixtures.

With Midtjylland looking to hold on to their lead, but the victory is likely to go to the home team as they have recently been on a good form at home.

Odds: 1 2.20 X 2.05 2 2.40