Predictions Champions League - PAOK vs Malmo

Champions League - PAOK vs Malmo
Match Time: 14-08-2024 00:30 Wednesday (GMT+7)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
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PAOK twice trailed to Malmo in the first leg at Eleda Stadion, but Taison levelled it at 1-1 in the 42nd minute, before Abdul Baba Rahman came up with a second for the visitors in the 75th minute of the contest.

Razvan Lucescu's side are the reigning Greek champions, lifting the title for just the fourth time last season, and they are bidding to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League for the first time.

PAOK beat Borac Banja Luka 4-2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round of this season's competition, and they would have been pleased with their draw in the first leg against Malmo last week.

The Greek outfit actually made it to the quarter-finals of last season's Conference League, with their journey in the competition being ended by Club Brugge.

PAOK will begin their league campaign against Panserraikos next weekend, but their full focus will currently be on ensuring that they are present in the playoff stage of this season's Champions League.

Malmo twice led on home soil in the first leg, but they were pegged back on both occasions, and the Swedish outfit are now at a slight disadvantage heading into the second leg of the European affair.

The Blue Ones are 23-time Swedish champions, while they were famously runners-up in the 1978-79 Champions League, losing the final to Nottingham Forest, who won the title for the first time in their history.

Henrik Rydstrom's side beat KI Klaksvik 6-4 in the second qualifying round of this season's Champions League, and they are now bidding to make it to the group stage for the first time since 2021-22, when they competed alongside Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg and Chelsea.

Last season, Malmo fell in the second qualifying round, but they did compete in the group stage of the 2022-23 Europa League, and they have a strong history of European football.

The Sky Blues are actually 18 matches into their domestic season, sitting at the top of the Allsvenskan table, and they will enter this game off the back of a 1-0 success over Halmstad on Saturday.

Prediction: PAOK 1-2 Malmo