PAOK – Celta Vigo: can anyone seize the edge in the first leg?
The first leg of the UEFA Europa League qualifying round brings us a clash between PAOK and Celta Vigo. The match will take place on Thursday, 19 February, kicking off at 18:45 CET. Here is a betting tip for the encounter.
PAOK – Celta Vigo: match facts and head-to-head
- PAOK are unbeaten in their last five matches: three wins and two draws.
- Celta Vigo are winless in five games: two defeats and three draws.
- PAOK have kept four consecutive clean sheets.
- This season, PAOK have not lost a single match on home soil.
- Celta are without an away win in their last four matches: three draws and one defeat.
- PAOK have won 40% of their matches this season to nil, Celta – 20%.
- Only 5% of PAOK’s matches this season have ended in a defeat without scoring, Celta Vigo – 6%.
- In 30% of their games this season, PAOK have scored in both halves.
- Celta Vigo and PAOK have met once before, with the Spanish side claiming a 3:1 victory.
PAOK – Celta Vigo: match preview
PAOK have been formidable at home, remaining unbeaten on their own turf. The Greek side are also riding a solid run of form, going five matches without defeat. In the UEFA Europa League league phase, PAOK delivered a respectable campaign. They collected 12 points from eight rounds and finished 17th in the standings. In their most recent Europa League outing, they fell 2:4 to Lyon, but prior to that they defeated Real Betis 2:0 at home. They will clearly look to give this opponent a real battle.
Celta are not in their best shape at the moment and have struggled for consistency. They are winless in five consecutive matches. In the league phase, Celta Vigo picked up one point more than PAOK and finished 16th in the table. This sets the stage for a battle between two evenly matched sides. Domestically, Celta have 34 points after 24 rounds and currently sit seventh. Vigo have slipped down the table due to their recent results.
Probable line-ups
- PAOK: Pavlenka; Kenny, Kedziora, Michailidis, Rahman; Ozdoyev, Meite; Chatsidis, Taison, Zivkovic; Mythou
- Celta Vigo: Radu; Alonso, Starfelt, Rodriguez; Rueda, Lopez, Roman Gonzalez, Carreira; Swedberg, Iglesias, Aspas
Prediction
PAOK have been extremely solid at home and remain unbeaten there this season. The recommended bet is on PAOK not to lose this encounter.