With a place in the group stage of Europe's third tier club competition up for grabs, the hosts are looking to hold on to their slender one goal lead having secured a 2-1 victory in the first leg at Tynecastle Stadium last week.
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PAOK will host Hearts in the second leg of their Europa Conference League playoff tie at Stadio Toumbas on Thursday. With a place in the group stage of Europe’s third tier club competition up for grabs, the hosts are looking to hold on to their slender one goal lead having secured a 2-1 victory in the first leg at Tynecastle Stadium last week. Although, the Scottish outfit took the lead through Lawrence Shankland’s ninth minute opener from the penalty spot, the White-Blacks fought back to level the score three minutes later thanks to yet another spot kick by Stefan Schwab, before Andrija Zivkovic netted the winner fifteen minutes from time.
#Matchday #PAOKHOM #UECL #stoiximan
⚽️ Vs #Hearts
🏟️ Toumba Stadium
⌚️ 20:30
🎟️https://t.co/d1NBFR8XX5
📸 PAOK FC Digital Media@Stoiximan pic.twitter.com/qh7hSNqtPd— PAOK FC (@PAOK_FC) August 31, 2023
PAOK are now unbeaten in seven games across all competitions this season, recording five wins and two draws in the period. The Double-Headed Eagles claimed fourth spot in the Greece Super League last term and thereby earned a place in the second qualifying round of the Conference League. The White-Blacks overcame the likes of Beitar Jerusalem and Hajduk Split to reach the playoffs of the tournament. PAOK failed to qualify for Europe last term, losing out to Levski Sofia in the qualification stage and thereby will be hoping to get the job done this time around. Meanwhile, the White-Blacks are heading into Thursday’s game on the back of a four-game winning run across all competitions.
Hearts, on the other hand, will be optimistic about their chances of overturning a one-goal deficit in Greece, having done so in their previous round of qualification against Rosenborg earlier this month. The Scottish outfit lost the away-leg 2-1 against the Norwegian club but fought back and turned things around in the second leg in front of their own supporters at Tynecastle Stadium, securing a 4-3 aggregate victory. The Jam Tarts have had a mixed start to their 2023-24 campaign, recording three wins, as many defeats and one draw from their opening seven games across all competitions so far. Meanwhile, HMFC had finished fourth in the Scottish top flight table last season, and are aiming to progress to the Europa Conference League group stage for a second successive year.
PAOK probable starting lineup: Kotarski, Kedziora, Troost-Ekong, Michailidis, Rahman, Schwab, Soares, Zivkovic, Konstantelias, Taison, Brandon
Hearts probable starting lineup: Clark, Atkinson, Kent, Rowles, Kinglsey, Devlin, Cochrane, Oda, Boyce, Vargas, Shankland
PAOK
| Opponents | Score |
| Kifisias | 2-1 (W) |
| Hearts | 1-2 (W) |
| Asteras Tripolis | 3-0 (W) |
| Hajduk Split | 3-0 (W) |
| Beitar Jerusalem | 1-4 (W) |
Hearts
| Opponents | Score |
| Dundee FC | 1-0 (L) |
| PAOK | 1-2 (L) |
| Patrick Thistle | 4-0 (W) |
| Rosenborg | 3-1 (W) |
| Kilmarnock | 0-0 (D) |
| Last match-result | Score |
| PAOK beat Hearts | 1-2 |
The Europa Conference League fixture between PAOK and Hearts will take place at Stadio Toumbas on Thursday at 11:00 pm IST.
| PAOK vs Hearts | Key Details |
| Date | August 31 |
| Venue | Stadio Toumbas |
| Kickoff time in Greece | 8:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in UK | 6:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 11:00 pm |
Football fans in Greece can watch the match on Nova Sports Prime. Meanwhile, those in UK can catch the live action on Viaplay network.
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