PAOK vs Club Brugge KV prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-04-17 19:00.
[p]PAOK head coach RÄzvan Lucescu was not perturbed by their 1-0 defeat at Club Brugge in last weekās first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) quarter-final tie. You only need to go back just one month to understand why, as the Greek outfit successfully negotiated the last 16 after avenging a 2-0 away loss to Dinamo Zagreb with a 5-1 home thrashing of their Croatian opponents seven days later.[/p]
[p]Asserting that Club Brugge āhave a different face away from homeā, Lucescu also expressed his belief in the power of PAOKās ā12th manā to get them over the line. His confidence will have been bolstered by his men winning five of their last six UEFA matches at Toumba Stadium (D1), piling on 20 goals to six in those fixtures, while the Romanian was also in charge the last time that PAOK faced a Belgian side, when they defeated Gent 1-0 at home to reach the quarter-finals of this competition in 2021/22.[/p]
[p]Club Brugge also have the disadvantage of having played league football at the weekend unlike their hosts, though an effective series of rotations from Nicky Hayen kept them in the top three of the Belgian Pro League after their third competitive home game in eight days (3-0 v Royal Antwerp).Ā [/p]
[p]This could be the interim managerās biggest test to date however, particularly as the only away match of his tenure was at Cercle Brugge (1-1) in his opening game in charge. Brugge romped through the group stage with three away wins, but travelling has not been so comfortable in recent weeks. The Belgians have lost four of their last seven encounters on the road across all competitions (W1, D2), while in the previous round of the UECL, they needed to overcome a 2-1 first-leg defeat suffered at Molde.Ā [/p]
[p]Players to watch: One of PAOK left-back Baba Rahmanās three competitive goals since the start of March was in their 5-1 home win over Dinamo Zagreb. Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika will be hoping to replicate some strong recent league form of three goals in his last two Pro League appearances in this competition.[/p]
[p]Hot streak: Club Bruggeās last eight away games in all competitions all produced over 1.5 total goals.[/p]