Preview: Dynamo Kiev vs PAOK - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking to score in a Europa League match at the third attempt this summer, Dynamo Kiev welcome Greek giants PAOK to Motor Lublin Arena, Poland for a second-round qualification clash on Thursday evening.

Bilo-Syni recently enjoyed success from the penalty spot to book a two-legged affair with Dikefalos, who begin their competitive schedule for the 2026-27 campaign on the continent this week.

Match preview

After lifting the Ukrainian Premier League for the 17th time in their storied history in 2025, Dynamo Kiev endured a major slump last season, ending up in fourth position, 15 points behind league champions Shakhtar Donetsk.

As a result, Bilo-Syni find themselves in the qualification rounds of the Europa League this summer and required penalty kicks to progress past Romanian side Universitatea Cluj earlier this month after back-to-back goalless draws.

Scoring the third of Dynamo Kiev's four successful strikes from 12 yards out at Cluj Arena, Matviy Ponomarenko was the main man in attack last season, with the 20-year-old netting 13 goals across just 15 Premier League appearances.

At the other end of the experience scale, 36-year-old Andriy Yarmolenko is three years into his second stint at Bilo-Syni after spells at Borussia Dortmund, West Ham United and Al-Ain, with the attacker scoring 131 goals in 325 matches between 2008 and 2017 for the club.

Following defeats to Pafos and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Champions League and Europa League qualification respectively last season, Dynamo Kiev competed in the League Phase of the Conference League but failed to make the knockout stages, losing four of their six matches.

Since lifting their fourth-ever Greek top-flight title in 2024, PAOK have secured consecutive third-placed finishes in the Super League, with fierce rivals AEK Athens and Olympiacos enjoying domestic success in the meantime.

Dikefalos remain on a mission for their first-ever continental title after a disappointing Europa League campaign in 2025-26, when they squeezed out of the League Phase before losing to Celta Vigo in the playoff round.

Unbeaten across 16 home matches (W12 D4) in the Greek Super League last season, PAOK's problems were more obvious on the road as they managed just six victories across 16 top-flight away contests.

Whilst Dikefalos have lost a couple of key players over the summer - including eight-goal attacker Magomed Ozdoev to Russian side Krasnodar - there has been reason for pre-season excitement thanks to the arrivals of Taha Abdi Ali and Baptiste Santamaria.

An area highlighted for improvement ahead of this week's Europa League clash, PAOK's defence struggled to stay watertight during the closing months of last term, with Thursday's visitors without a clean sheet in their past seven competitive fixtures.

Dynamo Kiev Europa League form:

D W

PAOK pre-season friendly form:

W W W L

Team News

After keeping back-to-back clean sheets, Dynamo Kiev goalkeeper Ruslan Neshcheret should retain his spot in the starting XI.

The Ukrainians would be foolish to mess with their back four too much either, with centre-backs Kristian Bilovar and Taras Mykhavko preparing to perform once again.

Appearing off the bench twice in the previous round, Shola Ogundana could make his first start of the season on Thursday evening.

One of two Englishmen in the PAOK ranks, winger Shola Shoretire is a doubt for this contest because of a knee problem.

Well-known to those of an Everton persuasion, defender Jonjoe Kenny is preparing for his second season with the Greek club.

Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:

Neshcheret; Kedziora, Bilovar, Mykavko, Dubinchak; Pikhalyonok, Brazhko, Shaparenko; Ogundana, Voloshyn, Ponomarenko

PAOK possible starting lineup:

Pavlenka; Kenny, Gomez, Michailidis, Taylor; Santamaria, Zafeiris, Zivkovic, Konstantelias, Pelkas; Ali

We say: Dynamo Kiev 0-0 PAOK

Already into their competitive flow after two matches against Romanian opposition, Dynamo Kiev could be sharper than their visitors on Thursday evening.

PAOK have a number of exciting signings who could make their debuts, however, we expect the first leg to be a cagey affair in Lublin.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.