His first European match of the year is today (24/07) o PAOKwhich welcomes the Banja Luka in Tubaat 20:30 (sport-fm.gr, News Bulletin 247 and Novasports Prime), in the context of the first confrontation between them for the second qualifying round of this year Champions League.
“Step by step”, was the… slogan given by Razvan Lucescu, speaking at the usual press conference in view of the attempt of the “two-headed team of the North” to reach the League Phase of the top European football club competition.
It could not be otherwise, after all, given that the Romanian coach and the PAOK footballers have a great opportunity to enter the group stage for the first time in the club’s history!
To get there, of course, the “black and white” must first of all overcome the obstacle of the team from Bosnia-Herzegovina and move on to the next phase of the Champions League, where they will face one from Malmö or Klaksvik…
However, they have the guarantees to succeed, having a stable “core” from last year, players with experience from European matches, but also quite a lot of motivation.
You see, in addition to securing the coveted “ticket”, PAOK will also have another very big profit, in the event of qualification. Which will it be? Ensuring its European continuity, through given, now, his participation in the League Phase of the Conference League!
Among the positives for Lucescu is the fact that does not face problems with absences or injuries for this all-important game.
Specifically, the team of the Greek champions is made up of KOtarski, Tsiftsis, Vieirinia, Sastre, Otto, Kenziora, Ekong, Thymianis, Koulierakis, Michaelidis, Rafa Soares, Baba, Tsigaras, Kamara, Schwab, Ozdoev, Murg, Constantelias, Tyson, Zivkovic, Despodov, Thomas, Samata.
Banja Luka, for its part, of course, does not intend to… go down without a fight. Ussa, the champion of the country, but also with a “strong” seat, submitted her credentials in the previous round, where eliminated Albanian Egnatia with a total score of 4-2.
In two words, this is a team that knows how to adapt and at the same time take advantage of the situations that arise, without necessarily playing dominant football. Which therefore makes it dangerous, if it is not given due attention.
However, he went to Thessaloniki without the 24-year-old Croatian midfielder, Dino Skorupwho was acquired a few days ago by Gambela and the 30-year-old Slovenian midfielder, Alex Pichleras he is injured.
The possible compositions of the two teams:
PAOK (Razvan Lucescu): Kotarski, Sastre, Koulierakis, Ekong, Baba, Schwab, Tsingaras, Despontov, Constantelias, Tyson, Thomas.
Banja Luka (Mladen Zizovic): Siskowski, Kvrzic, Myers, Karolina, Herrera, Grachovac, Vranies, Khrelia, Savic, Vukovic, Lukic.
Referee: David Smjic (Slovenia).
Assistant referees: David Gabrovec, Tomas Cerne (Slovenia).
Fourth referee: Dejan Balazic (Slovenia).
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
