PAOK vs FCSB prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2025-02-12 20:00.
[p]Only goal difference secured PAOK a spot in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) knockout play-off round, as a final day defeat against Real Sociedad luckily didn’t prove fatal for them. Only two teams lost as many as four UEL league phase games and still advanced to the knockouts, and PAOK were one of them. With one of those defeats coming at home to FCSB on matchday two, this tie serves as a chance for redemption. [/p]
[p]A 5-0 Greek Super League win against OFI was the perfect way to warm up for this tie while the fact they’re well off the pace in the title race in Greece perhaps means they’ll put extra focus on this competition. They’d be wise to do so too, as PAOK have never won a UEL knockout match in eight previous attempts (D3, L5), failing to score in six of those games too. [/p]
[p]FCSB’s path to this stage was much smoother in the sense they finished higher up the league phase table, but they’ll be disappointed to be competing at this stage. A final day defeat against Manchester United meant they missed out on a top-eight spot, but they’ve at least reacted positively since, going unbeaten in all three games (W1, D2), culminating in a 3-0 win against Sepsi on Sunday which kept them top of the Romanian SuperLiga. [/p]
[p]That revival could prove to be short-lived, and history would suggest they’ll be brought back down to earth in the UEL having lost their last six away major European knockout matches, a[/p]
[p]run that stretches back to a 4-2 loss at Middlesbrough in April 2006. FCSB’s league phase away form was impressive though (W2, D1, L1), and it’s worth noting their only defeat came at Rangers when they were reportedly focused on prioritising their league campaign. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Taison has netted four times for PAOK in European competition this season, each time before the hour mark. Daniel Bîrligea netted the winner when these two sides met in the league phase and all ten of his scoring appearances for FCSB this season have ended in victory. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Only one of FCSB’s last seven UEL games saw both teams score. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Chris Wilson[/i][/p]