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PAOK will host Shamrock Rovers at the Toumba Stadium on Thursday in the first leg of their 2024-25 UEFA Europa League playoff round clash. The home side returned to domestic action last weekend beating Panserraikos 3-2 and will be looking to carry that momentum onto the continental stage this week.
They participated in the Champions League qualifiers last month beating Borac 4-2 on aggregate in round two before locking horns against Malmo in the next round. They played out a 2-2 draw against the Swedish outfit in the first leg before losing 4-3 in the return leg on home turf and will now have to settle for a spot in the Europa or Conference League.
Like their opponents, Shamrock Rovers also began their quest for continental football in the Champions League qualifiers and beat Vikingur in the first round before getting knocked out by Sparta Praha in the second.
They were drawn against Celje in the previous round of the Europa League qualifiers losing the first-leg clash 1-0 before rectifying things on home turf the following week with a 3-1 extra-time win.
PAOK vs Shamrock Rovers Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday's game will mark the third competitive meeting between PAOK and Shamrock with the hosts winning each of their previous two matchups.
- The two sides last faced off in a Europa League group-stage clash back in the 2011-12 campaign which PAOK won 3-1.
- The White-Blacks have won all four of their previous competitive matchups against Irish opposition.
- The visitors are without a clean sheet in their last eight games across all competitions.
PAOK vs Shamrock Rovers Prediction
PAOK's latest result ended a run of back-to-back defeats and they will now be looking to build on that this week. They have won five of their last six competitive games at the Toumba Stadium and will head into the midweek clash as clear favorites.
Similarly, Shamrock saw their latest result end a run of consecutive winless outings and they will now be looking to kick on from that this Thursday. They have however failed to impress on the road in recent weeks and could see defeat here.
Prediction: PAOK 3-1 Shamrock Rovers
PAOK vs Shamrock Rovers Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: PAOK
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Seven of the hosts' last eight matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in four of the visitors' last five matches)
