Qarabag - PAOK ( EL - Group Stage - Matchday 3 / 20 Oct 2016, 20:00 EEST )

[Blackhawk]

 

  vs  

 

MATCHUP:          Qarabag FK - P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki
COMPETITION:   Europa League – Group Stage - Round 3
DATE:                  20-October-2016
TIME:                   20:00 GR  (17:00 GMT, 12:00 CDT, 04:00 AEDT next day)
CITY/STADIUM:   Baku – Tofig Bahramov Stadium (31,200)
REFEREES:         Alon Yefet - Danny Krasikow, Nissan Davidy - Ziv Adler, Roi Reinshreiber (Israel)
TELEVISION:       OTE Sport 2 (Greece), Fox Soccer 2GO (USA), TSN GO (Canada)

Standings:

PAOK Thessaloniki – 4
ACF Fiorentina - 4
FC Slovan Liberec - 1
Qarabag FK – 1

Our European history against teams from Azerbaijan:

 

2015-2016:  Qabala FK – PAOK FC  0:0 - Attendance: ? (Europa League – Group Stage)
2015-2016:  PAOK FC – Qabala FK  0:0 - Attendance: 6,131 (Europa League – Group Stage)

GAMES:   2
WINS:       0
TIES:         2
LOSSES:   0

[Dutch Eagle]

Alon Yefet from Israel will be the ref. He has led a European game of us before in 2003: the game away at Debrecen (second round UEFA-cup) where we drew 0-0 and were eliminated after the 1-1 in Toumba.

[BostonThanatos]

I didn't realize we were the underdog in this match.

 

I was thinking of putting $200 on PAOK to win and Inter to beat Southampton.  Pays out $1290

Edited October 17, 2016 by BostonThanatos

[Bananas]

I saw the game Qarabag vs Sloven and Qarabag were definitely the better team.  They were actually quite decent in attack and played at a good temp although their defense was shaky.  I think if we play smart we can get the 3 points.

[italosPAOK4]

me nikh h' isopalia 8a exoume eksasfalisei mish prokrish

[Blackhawk]

Pelkas and Tzavellas are out due to injuries. Possibly Malezas and Gianoulis as well.

My mini-rotation lineup for this game:

--------------- Brkic ------------------
Matos - Varela - Crespo - Leovac
-------- Charisis ------ Cimirot -----
Pereyra -- Biseswar -- Rodrigues
----------- Koulouris -----------------

Kitsiou, Poggouras, Shakhov in for Matos, Varela and Biseswar in the 2nd half.

[pash]

Isn't Leovac possibly injured as well? We might see Kitsiou get the start there after all.

[Blackhawk]

Hmmm. You're right. Kitsiou in his place and have Korovesis as a sub for that position.

[pash]

I was surprised when Kitsiou played on the left side vs Iraklis...you'd think that with Matos being strong on both sides, that we'd see him there and would have Kitsiou playing on his natural side. Hopefully Ivic isn't going to goof this up.

[kozi]

8 hours ago, Blackhawk said:

Pelkas and Tzavellas are out due to injuries. Possibly Malezas and Gianoulis as well.

My mini-rotation lineup for this game:

--------------- Brkic ------------------
Matos - Varela - Crespo - Leovac
-------- Charisis ------ Cimirot -----
Pereyra -- Biseswar -- Rodrigues
----------- Koulouris -----------------

Kitsiou, Poggouras, Shakhov in for Matos, Varela and Biseswar in the 2nd half.

Not playing Canas will cause us major problems. Xarisi is not good enough.

[Bananas]

Canas is definitely a more complete player than Charisis, but the kid has to get game time and he has to step up.  Given that we're playing Olympiakos on the weekend, it makes sense to rest Canas.

[Pontos]

I agree but Canas has more than a few years on Charisis, hopefully he can continue to develop. I love Charisis ability to run with the ball through the middle and break lines, seeing him and Cimirot do that was one of the few things I loved about last season.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Pontos

[BostonThanatos]

My lineup:

--------------- Glykos ------------------
Kitsiou - Varela - Crespo - Matos
-------- Charisis ------ Cimirot -----
Mystakidis -- Biseswar -- Rodrigues
----------- Pereyra -----------------

[pash]

I also think Charisis is stronger when he plays with Cimirot. Perhaps it's just the familiarity from last season.

But yes, Charisis needs more game time to reach his potential. And if the team plays to its potential, there will be plenty of opportunities in which to play. I say smart move resting Canas for the Olympiakos game.

[pash]

1 hour ago, BostonThanatos said:

My lineup:

--------------- Glykos ------------------
Kitsiou - Varela - Crespo - Matos
-------- Charisis ------ Cimirot -----
Mystakidis -- Biseswar -- Rodrigues
----------- Pereyra -----------------

 

One of our strongest possible lineups, yo

[Blackhawk]

Looks like Malezas is ready to go. Taking that into account I would change my defense and give Leovac who is not 100% fit some rest until Sunday:

Matos - Varela - Malezas -Crespo

I would prefer Crespo over Kitsiou on left side. I would keep him on the bench to give Matos some rest in 2nd half.

 

[Blackhawk]

Looks like Ivic will rest Klaus and play Pereyra as central forward.

Also Mystakidis is sick with a fever. Hopefully it's not the same illness that Slovan Liberec players caught when they visited Baku.

[italosPAOK4]

parte th nikh kai gia ta palhkaria tous opadous mas pou 8a bre8oun sto Mpakou ! 

[kozi]

7 hours ago, Blackhawk said:

Also Mystakidis is sick with a fever. Hopefully it's not the same illness that Slovan Liberec players caught when they visited Baku.

No great loss... Only good for last 20 mins

[Blackhawk]

Lineups:

[pash]

Didn't expect this lineup...

 

--------------- Glykos ------------------
Matos- Varela - Crespo - Leovac
-------- Canas ------ Cimirot -----
Campos -- Shakhov -- Rodrigues
----------- Thiam -----------------

 

We're gonna lose this one I think

[Blackhawk]

No Pereyra or Koulouris. Thiam as the forward. Also no Biseswar. Going with Shakhov. Looks like Ivic is going to at least secure the tie.

Good lineup in my opinion considering upcoming games. I don't think we will lose. Most likely result is a tie.

On the bench: Brkic, Malezas, Kitsiou, Charisis, Pereyra, Biseswar, Koulouris

[BostonThanatos]

Now all I need is a link (I hate working on game days....It looks much better on the 70" TV...

[Blackhawk]

Azerbaijani TV channel Idman TV will have the game. They are already televising pre-game warmup. Here is the link:

http://www.idmantv.az/canli/idman-canli-yayim.htm

Hopefully audio from Greek radio will be closely synced with video.

[BostonThanatos]

Bravo BH, I don't even mind the foreign announcers.