MX23RW : Sunday, December 15 09:29:57| >> :600:1098727:1098727:
[monks data]
Gent
Conference League | Last 16 | 2nd Leg
Mar 17, 2022 at 8pm UK
GHELAMCO-arena
PAOK

Gent
1 - 2
PAOK

Depoitre (40')
Odjidja-Ofoe (32'), Owusu (71')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Angel Crespo (20'), Douglas (77')
Paschalakis (28'), Colak (87')

Preview: Gent vs. PAOK - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Europa Conference League clash between Gent and PAOK, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

PAOK will travel to Gent for the second leg of their Europa Conference League last 16 tie, which takes place at the Ghelamco Arena on Thursday.

The advantage lies with the visitors ahead of the contest after PAOK claimed a narrow 1-0 victory in Greece last week.


Match preview

Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck on November 25, 2021© Reuters

Gent will have to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg if they are to continue their journey in the Europa Conference League.

A cagey game in Thessaloniki was decided by a second-half strike from Jasmin Kurtic, with the 1-0 loss representing Gent's only defeat in their last eight games in all competitions.

The Buffalos returned to winning ways at the weekend with Julian De Sart and Darko Lemajic grabbing a goal apiece to guide their side to a 2-0 away victory over Beerschot.

Including the qualifying round, Gent are unbeaten in their six home Europa Conference League matches this season, with four of those encounters ending in victory.

The hosts will be further boosted by their last two home results, with Gent thrashing RFC Seraing 4-0 before claiming a narrow 2-1 victory over Zulte Waregem.

PAOK's Stefan Schwab celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on December 9, 2021© Reuters

PAOK may hold the advantage ahead of the second leg in Belgium, but with the lead a slender one, the Greek Super League side will know that they have a lot of work still to do if they are to reach the quarter-final stage.

They have, however, already prevailed in a close-fought tie against Midtjylland after winning on penalties in the knockout playoff round to set up their tie with Gent.

Although, they did lose the away leg against Midtjylland by a 1-0 scoreline and a repeat of that result on Thursday would see the contest head to extra time.

The visitors will carry momentum into Thursday's encounter after Chuba Akpom scoring a stoppage-time winner to help his side win 1-0 against PAS Gianna in the Greek Super League at the weekend.

Razvan Lucescu will be hoping his side can draw inspiration from the fact that they are unbeaten in their last five competitive matches against Belgian opposition.

Gent Europa Conference League form:
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L

Gent form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W

PAOK Europa Conference League form:
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W

PAOK form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W



Team News

PAOK's Andrija Zivkovic celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on February 24, 2022© Reuters

The hosts are still without the services of Gianni Bruno, who has not featured since January due to injury issues.

Despite scoring at the weekend, Lemajic will be replaced in the frontline by Laurent Depoitre who has scored 10 goals in all competitions this season.

Jordan Torunarigha was introduced at half time in the first leg and the defender is expected to start in a back three on Thursday.

As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the services of injured duo Nelson Oliveira and Fernando Varela.

Kurtic and Andrija Zivkovic will also miss out, with the pair set to serve one-match suspensions for an accumulation of yellow cards.

After scoring the winner at the weekend, Akpom is expected to return to the starting lineup for the second leg.

Gent possible starting lineup:
Roefe; Hanche-Olsen, Ngadeu, Torunarigha; Samoise, Kums, De Sart, Castro-Montes; Odjidja-Ofoe, Hjulsager, Depoitre

PAOK possible starting lineup:
Paschalakis; Lyratzis, Ingason, Crespo, Vieirinha; Tsingaras, Augusto; Murg, Biseswar, Mitrita; Akpom


SM words green background

We say: Gent 1-1 PAOK

Like their first leg, we expect Thursday's encounter to be a closely-fought contest, but PAOK have proven to be a tough team to beat after losing once in their last 22 games in all competitions, and we think that the visitors will do enough to progress to the quarter finals.


ID:480805:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8905:
Written by
Ben Sully

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Gent win with a probability of 37.92%. A win for PAOK had a probability of 37.35% and a draw had a probability of 24.7%.

The most likely scoreline for a Gent win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.43%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.96%) and 2-0 (5.82%). The likeliest PAOK win was 1-2 (8.35%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.53%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Gent vs PAOK

Gent
59.0%
Draw
16.7%
PAOK
24.4%
78
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
A general shot of a Premier League football ahead of the Premier League clash between Everton and West Ham United at Goodison Park on October 30, 2016
Read Next:
How PAOK could line up against Chelsea
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Chiefs
@
Browns
6pm
Ravens
@
Giants
6pm
Jets
@
Jags
6pm
Cowboys
@
Panthers
6pm
Washington
@
Saints
6pm
Dolphins
@
Texans
6pm
Bengals
@
Titans
9.25pm
Colts
@
Broncos
9.25pm
Patriots
@
Cardinals
9.25pm
Buccaneers
@
Chargers
9.25pm
Steelers
@
Eagles
9.25pm
Bills
@
Lions
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Chelsea550015
2Guimaraes541013
3Lugano540112
4Fiorentina540112
5Legia540112
6Shamrock532011
7Cercle Brugge531110
8Jagiellonia531110
9APOEL531110
10Rapid Vienna531110
11Djurgarden531110
12Heidenheim53029
13Pafos53029
14Gent53029
15Ljubljana53029
16Copenhagen52218
17Vikingur 52127
18Panathinaikos52127
19Borac Banja Luka52127
20Betis52127
21Hearts52036
22Omonia52036
23Mlada Boleslav52036
24Istanbul51225
25Astana51134
26Molde51134
27Backa Topola51134
28HJK Helsinki51134
29St Gallen51134
30Celje51134
31Noah51134
32New Saints51043
33Dinamo Minsk51043
34LASK50232
35Petrocub50141
36Larne50050


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!