PAOK vs Chelsea PREVIEW & PREDICTION 20/09/2018

Chelsea has to act on the second European level this season. PAOK Saloniki is the first opponent in Group I on Thursday evening.

PAOK:

PAOK is regarded as a top club in Greece, even though the team from Thessaloniki has not won a championship since 1985. In recent years, the Romanian trainer Razvan Lucescu’s team has been on the road repeatedly. PAOK impresses at the start of the season: both in its own Greek league and in the qualifying tournament for the Champions League.

PAOK actually entered the second qualifying round of the Champions League and, like Ajax, had to survive three qualifying rounds to qualify for the group stage of the champions ball. PAOK, however, had a considerably heavier draw than Ajax, but therefore also had the opportunity to distinguish itself. In the second preliminary round, PAOK was twice as strong for the Swiss top club FC Basel (2-1 win at home, 0-3 win), while in the third preliminary round the Spartak Moscow from then still Quincy Promes was not up to the Greeks: in Greece won PAOK with 3-2 and in Moscow there was no score.

In the last hurdle for the Champions League, the Portuguese number two Benfica was too strong for the men of Lucescu. PAOK provided itself with an excellent starting position by playing a 1-1 draw in Lisbon, but relieved it completely at home, when no less than 1-4 were lost. As a result, PAOK has been sentenced to the Europa League. The group in which it is classified offers sufficient chances to reach the eighth finals for the first time since the 2012/2013 season.

Chelsea:

With Arsenal and Chelsea there are two English teams that we actually expect in the Champions League. The Blues had a mediocre season and finished in fifth place as reigning champion under the leadership of Antonio Conte, which was not enough for the highest European level.

Under the leadership of the new trainer Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea was shot out of the starting blocks like a comet. The first five league matches in the new season were all won, with a first place as a result. In particular, Eden Hazard excels every week. The rest of the team is also largely intact: the most important change has taken place in the goal. Thibaut Courtois has left for Real Madrid and his successor is Spaniard Kepa, who with a purchase price of 80 million is the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. Sarri also took Jorginho to London and the Brazilian Italian has become an important pawn in the midfield.

It remains to be seen whether Sarri will draw up his best eleven players. British newspapers claim that Eden Hazard, Marcos Alonso, N’Golo Kanté and Cesar Azpilicueta get a rest.


PREDICTION: Chelsea to win @ 1.75

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