Rijeka vs PAOK prediction, H2H and probable lineups — August 21, 2025
As part of the UEFA Europa League playoff qualification round, Rijeka will take on PAOK. The match is set to be played in Croatia on Thursday, August 21. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:40 Central European Time. I suggest a bet on goals in this clash.
See also: Anderlecht vs AEK Athens prediction and betting tips 21 Аugust 2025
Match preview
Aberdeen under Jimmy Thelin has been showing progress, striving to balance domestic competition, while Rijeka started their season in the Champions League qualifiers but fell to Bulgarian side Ludogorets in the second round. Despite some difficulties, they managed to overcome Irish club Shelbourne in the next stage.
Heading into this match, Rijeka are not in their best form: they suffered a painful defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the national league. However, the Europa League is a different tournament, and the team must refocus to put on a strong performance against a tough opponent.
The Greek championship has yet to kick off, so PAOK's current form can only be assessed based on their Europa League qualifier matches against Austrian side Wolfsberg. Razvan Lucescu's men scored just one goal, but it was enough to move on to the next round. The Greek defense looked solid in those games, although last season the team conceded too many goals and the backline was considered the weakest link.
Probable lineups
Rijeka: Zlomislic - Orec, Majstorovic, Radeljic, Devetak – Petrovic, Dantas, Fruk - Ndokit, Jankovic, Juric
PAOK: Pavlenka - Kenny, Kedziora, Mihailidis, Baba – Ozdoev, Meite, Ivanusec – Zivkovic, Konstantelias - Chalov
Match facts and head-to-head
- These teams last met in 2021 during the Conference League qualifiers, where the Greeks came out on top: 3-1 on aggregate
- PAOK are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions
- The under 2.5 goals bet has won in seven of Rijeka's last nine matches
Prediction
I expect a low-scoring encounter. Rijeka generally play a cautious brand of football with few goals. PAOK, at the start of their season, also haven't shown much attacking flair: in their two-legged tie against Wolfsberg in the Europa League qualifiers, only one goal was scored across both matches. Therefore, I recommend betting on under 2.5 goals at odds of 1.75.
