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Summarize this content to 400 words Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Europa Conference League clash between PAOK and Hearts, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Hearts travel to Stadio Toumba in Greece to take on PAOK in the second leg of their Europa Conference League playoff tie on Thursday night.
With a place in the group stage up for grabs, the Scottish outfit are seeking to overturn a one-goal deficit after losing 2-1 in last week’s first leg at Tynecastle.
Match preview
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After beating both Beitar Jerusalem and Hajduk Split in the previous two qualifying rounds, PAOK are now one step closer to reaching the Europa League group stage after coming from behind to win the first-leg of their playoff clash away against Hearts.
Lawrence Shankland put the Jam Tarts ahead from the penalty spot in the nine minute, but PAOK restored parity just three minutes later with a spot kick of their own converted by Stefan Schwab, before Andrija Zivkovic completed the comeback with a strike on the 75-minute mark.
Razvan Lucescu’s side have since extended their unbeaten start to the new campaign to seven games in all competitions after securing a 2-1 home victory over Kifisla in the Greek Super League on Sunday courtesy of Stefanos Tzimas’s opener and a late own goal from Luka Capan.
PAOK, who failed to qualify for European competition last season, shift their attention back to Europa Conference League qualifying as they endeavour to finish the job on Thursday and reach the group stage for the second time since the launch of the inaugural competition in 2021-22.
Lucescu acknowledged the “hard fight” his players experienced in the first leg with Hearts, but he hopes his side can once again ‘take advantage of their quality’ to claim the result they need to edge through on aggregate.
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Meanwhile, Hearts head coach Frankie McAvoy expressed his disappointment after losing the first leg to PAOK at Tynecastle, but he remains optimistic ahead of Thursday’s reverse fixture, insisting that the game is still “in the balance” and “is there to be won” in Thessaloniki.
The Jam Tarts had put together a three-game unbeaten run in all tournaments heading into last week’s first leg, but they have since suffered back-to-back defeats, with their loss to PAOK followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Following an uneventful first half, Hearts were caught out just after the hour mark when Luke McCowan’s brilliant 30-yard chip nestled into the net to condemn Hearts to their first league defeat of the new season.
After enduring a bad day at the office in Dundee, McAvoy will be seeking a response from his players on Thursday, and they will need to be on top of their game if they wish to overturn the one-goal deficit and progress to the Europa Conference League group stage for a second successive year.
PAOK Europa Conference League form:
PAOK form (all competitions):
Hearts Europa Conference League form:
Hearts form (all competitions):
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Team News
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After making five changes to his starting lineup for last weekend’s win over Kifisia, PAOK boss Lucescu will consider reverting to a similar side that beat Hearts in the first leg.
Former Aston Villa striker Mbwana Samatta has missed the last two games with an ankle injury and is unlikely to return for the second leg against Hearts, so either Brandon or 17-year-old Stefanos Tzimas is set to start up front.
Stefan Schwab, Giannis Konstantelias and William Troost-Ekong were all rested last weekend, but the trio are expected to be recalled the first XI on Thursday.
As for Hearts, Beni Baningime is in contention to return after a spell out with a hamstring injury, but Craig Gordon (broken leg), Peter Haring (ankle), Craig Halkett and Barrie McKay (both knee) all remain in the treatment room – the latter of whom sustained his injury in last week’s clash with PAOK.
The absence of McKay could see Yutaro Oda handed a start on the right flank and Kenneth Vargas switch to the opposite wing, with Liam Boyce set to continue in behind central striker Lawrence Shankland.
Cameron Devlin and Alex Cochrane, who both stared in midfield for the first leg, could return to the first XI on Thursday after being rested against Dundee, which could therefore see Toby Sibbick and Aidan Denholm drop to the substitutes’ bench.
PAOK possible starting lineup:Kotarski; Kedziora, Troost-Ekong, Michailidis, Rahman; Schwab, Soares; Zivkovic, Konstantelias, Taison; Brandon
Hearts possible starting lineup:Clark; Atkinson, Kent, Rowles, Kinglsey; Devlin, Cochrane; Oda, Boyce, Vargas; Shankland
We say: PAOK 1-1 Hearts (PAOK to win 3-2 on aggregate)
Another closely-fought contest is to be expected in Thursday’s second leg, with the onus on Hearts to improve at both ends of the pitch if they wish to spark a comeback.
Although the Jam Tarts will fancy their chances in Greece, PAOK have made a strong start to the new season and we expect the hosts to extend their unbeaten run by claiming at least a draw to advance to the group stage on aggregate.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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