Aberdeen are looking for their first Europa Conference League win against Group G pace-setters PAOK on Thursday night (20:00).
The Scottish side have hit decent form at just the right time as they prepare to welcome Greek powerhouses PAOK Salonika to Pittodrie for a Europa Conference League Group G tussle.
The Dons, unbeaten in five, have one point on the board from their first two group matches while PAOK have quickly taken a vice-like grip of the section with two wins out of two.
Aberdeen vs PAOK Tips
Match Odds
PAOK are 21/20 favourites to beat Aberdeen, who are available at 9/4 – while the Draw is an 11/5 shot.
Both teams to score? ‘Yes’ is the expected outcome at 4/6, with ‘No’ at 11/10.
Team News
Aberdeen are well rested having not had a match for 18 days and manager Barry Robson has a full squad to pick from.
Central midfielder Soualiho Meite is suspended for PAOK following a late red card against Eintracht Frankfurt, meaning Austrian international Stefan Schwab can expect a recall.
PAOK to win @ 21/20
PAOK’s season could not be going any better and there is every reason to believe this vastly-experienced, multi-national and in-form group can continue their winning habits at Pittodrie.
The Greek outfit have lost just once in 16 matches this season and they are unbeaten in their eight Conference League qualifiers and group-stage games this term.
Razvan Lucescu’s men have won six of those eight European ties, including home-and-away successes over Aberdeen’s Premiership rivals Hearts.
They took care of Hajduk Split 3-0 on aggregate and have started their Group G schedule with a 3-2 win at Finnish champions HJK and a 2-1 triumph over German side Eintracht Frankfurt.
They are second in the Greek Super League with a defensive record bettered only by leaders Olympiakos.
So it’s a tall order for Aberdeen despite being in decent form themselves, being unbeaten in five after a four-game losing streak.
They played okay in Frankfurt but lost 2-1 before performing poorly at home to HJK but salvaging a point, meaning that while this fixture isn’t quite ‘must-win’, the fear of being five points adrift of both PAOK and Frankfurt at the halfway stage should encourage the Dons to be positive.
However, Aberdeen haven’t played in 18 days so take PAOK, 2-0 winners over Atromitos at the weekend, to catch them cold.
Andrija Zivkovic to score anytime @ 5/2
Serbian international forward Andrija Zivkovic is on course for his best ever goal scoring season and should be trusted to find the net at Pittodrie.
The 27-year-old has bagged four in the Greek Super League for PAOK and another four in the Conference League as he flourishes playing off the frontman.
PAOK will create chances against an Aberdeen side lacking match sharpness and they do score goals, so Zivkovic looks a decent anytime scorer bet.
Over 9.5 total match corners @ 8/11
Aberdeen’s two matches in the Conference League so far have produced 10 and 11 corners and they are averaging five corners a match themselves.
PAOK’s two matches have produced 15 and 11 corners and the Greek outfit are averaging 6.5 corners a match.
All the statistical evidence says there will be over 9.5 corners at Pittodrie.
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