Qarabag vs PAOK at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium will be the first competitive encounter between the Azeri and Greek side. PAOK, however, were drawn in a group with Qarabag’s league rivals Gabala last season with both matches ending in 0-0 draws.
PAOK will therefore be looking for their first victory on Azeri soil when they undertake the 2,300 kilometre journey from Salonika to Baku on Thursday. Qarabag on the other hand are still looking for their first victory in this season’s Europa League campaign.
In fact the Azeri side shares the worst defensive record in the group stage with the Romanian club Astra, as they have both conceded seven goals in the first two matches of the Europa League season (5-1 to Fiorentina and a 2-2 draw with Slovan Liberec).
The one point of the first two matches, and the 5-1 defeat to Fiorentina firmly places Qarabag in the bottom of Group J. In our Europa League preview we predicted that Qarabag will likely finish fourth in the group, but the Azeri hedged hopes that they push the apple cart, and emerge as one of two teams from the group stage to reach the round of 32.
Qarabag have now reached the group stage of the Europa League for three seasons in a row, but have never managed to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.
PAOK on the other hand have reached the next round of Europa League three times in six attempts, and are furthermore unbeaten in the last four European away games. PAOK’s head coach Vladimir Ivić will be looking to extend the unbeaten streak when his side visits Baku on Thursday, and indeed PAOK are tipped by most as one of the two sides to qualify for the next stage of the tournament.
Qarabag’s head coach Gurban Gurbanov has been instrumental in turning the club to the country’s most successful side since taking over in 2008, and is adamant to turn his domestic success—the club has now won three league titles in a row, to international success.
There is some indication that Gurbanov wants to move the club forward on the international scene, which might have hurt his club’s performance at home, as a 2-0 defeat to Gabala two weeks ago has left Qarabag trailing on second place, four points behind Gabala.
Qarabag dispatched Sumqayit PFK in a 3-0 victory on the weekend, and now have their eyes on PAOK in a match that will most likely result in a low scoring draw between the Azeri and Greek side.
Possible Line-ups
Qarabag:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Saranov – Agolli, Gurbanov, Guseynov, Yunuszade – Garayev, Muarem – Michel, Dani Quintana, Richard – Reynaldo
Manager: Gurban Gurbanov
PAOK:
Formation: 4-4-2
Glykos – Leovac, Malezas, Varela, Crespo – Rodrigues, Cimirot, Charisis, Mystakidis – Athanasiadis, Pereyra
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