Preview: PAOK vs SK Brann - prediction, team news, lineups

PAOK and SK Brann clash on matchday five of the Europa League on Thursday, November 27, at the Toumba Stadium.

Both sides have identical records in the league phase, having won two games and lost and drawn one apiece, meaning three points here will boost their respective top-eight aspirations.

Match preview

After a dull start to their Europa League campaign, PAOK have sparked into life and delivered two wins in the competition to give their knockout ambitions a lift.

Those two victories are part of a larger sequence of eight wins in their last nine games in all competitions, which has seen them climb up the rankings in Europe.

On the domestic front, a 3-0 beating of Kifisia over the weekend meant that they are maintaining the challenge with leaders Olympiacos in the Greek Super League.

The Greek outfit, managed by Razvan Lucescu, are unbeaten across their previous 16 games at home, winning 13 of those, while they have also kept four consecutive clean sheets in their backyard, specifically in this competition.

Furthermore, the Double-headed Eagles are the second-best offensive side in this competition, netting nine times in their four games.

Lucescu’s men should be confident of securing maximum points here to take them up from 10th place in the league standings, especially because no Norwegian team has ever won away to a Greek side in Europe in the last five occasions.

However, it is a statistic that the visitors will block out, especially with them being level on points with their hosts.

That similarity may be the only thing these sides have in common, with Brann winless in their previous five competitive fixtures (D2, L3).

The Reds were humbled 4-0 over the weekend against Molde in the Norwegian Eliteserien, leaving them fourth in that division.

With this weekend being the final matchday domestically, and their qualification for the Europa League hanging in the balance, you would not blame the visitors for having one eye on their league finish.

Freyr Alexandersson is the man behind the tactics at Brann, and he has done a fantastic job in this competition so far.

The Norwegian outfit are on the verge of making history, as if they can secure a clean sheet this time around, it will be the first for a team from that nation to keep four clean sheets in a row in a major European competition.

PAOK Europa League form:

PAOK form (all competitions):

SK Brann Europa League form:

SK Brann form (all competitions):

Team News

The hosts will be without midfielder Giannis Konstantelias, who missed out last weekend through injury, and he will be missed after scoring in two consecutive games before.

Lucescu will not have the services of Mady Camara, as he battles an ankle problem, while Kiril Despodov and Anestis Mythou remain doubtful for Thursday’s encounter.

However, Tomasz Kedziora is eligible for selection after serving a one-match ban for a sending off on matchday four.

The main man for the PAOK is Georgios Giakoumakis, who netted five goals for the club this season, three of those coming in this competition, but he is also a caution away from a one-match suspension.

The visitors’ medical staff have also been kept busy with injuries to Joachim Soltvedt, Jonas Torsvik, Sakarias Opsahl, Saevar Magnusson and Markus Haaland, the latter is not related to his namesake from the Premier League.

Bard Finne is likely the biggest threat for Brann, who has nine goal involvements in 25 league games for the club, and his last four scoring appearances saw more than four goals scored on the day.

PAOK possible starting lineup:

Tsiftsis; Kenny, Kedziora, Michailidis, Baba; Bianco, Meite; Zivkovic, Ozdoev, Taison; Giakoumakis

SK Brann possible starting lineup:

Dyngeland; De Roeve, Helland, Larsen, Dragsnes; Kornvig, Sorensen, Gudmundsson; Mathisen, Holm, Finne