Prediction Europa Conference League - PAOK vs Club Brugge

Europa Conference League - PAOK vs Club Brugge
Match Time: 19-04-2024 03:00 Friday (GMT+8)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PAOK

PAOK will return to Thessaloniki on Thursday with the aim of overturning their Europa Conference League quarter-final tie and continuing their hunt for a first-ever continental title, having only reached this stage in Europe's tertiary competition once before in 2022, when they failed to advance to the final four.

Their run in that campaign was ended by Marseille, but the Greek outfit have since enjoyed another impressive run to the last eight, initially fighting through qualifying before guaranteeing round-of-16 progression by finishing top of their group with a near-perfect record.

That set up a two-legged meeting with Dinamo Zagreb last month, and after suffering a 2-0 defeat in Croatia, Razvan Lucescu's side staged an impressive comeback with a 5-1 home triumph to prevail on aggregate, before travelling to Belgium for the first leg of their quarter-final tie last Thursday.

The White-Blacks endured a tough start in that crucial first meeting, falling behind inside the first 10 minutes, but after withstanding pressure throughout the game, they were able to keep the deficit at one goal, thanks in no small part down to Dominik Kotarski's save in the second half to deny Igor Thiago from the penalty spot.

Now bringing the tie back to Greece with everything still to fight for, PAOK will bid to make the most of home advantage on Thursday and turn the quarter-final on its head to progress to the semi-finals.

Club Brugge

Club Brugge shone in Europa Conference League qualifying and the group stage, finishing first and earning automatic progression to the round of 16 with 16 points from six matches.

The Blauw-Zwart also fell behind in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie, losing 2-1 to Molde in March, but they would fight back to book a quarter-final spot with a 3-0 home win thanks to Andreas Skov Olsen's brace and Michal Skoras's goal.

With their sights set on the final four of Europe's tertiary competition, Nicky Hayen's side welcomed the White-Blacks to Belgium last Thursday and raced into a quick lead, as Hugo Vetlesen opened the scoring in the sixth minute, eventually settling for the one-goal lead before beating Royal Antwerp 3-0 at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Sunday to narrow the gap to the top two in the Belgian Pro League Championship round.

With momentum on their side, but perhaps feeling disappointed having not extended an aggregate lead on home turf last Thursday, particularly with the opportunity of a penalty in the final 15 minutes, Club Brugge will be desperate to defend their narrow advantage on Thursday and prevail in the quarter-final tie.

Prediction: PAOK 2-0 Club Brugge