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Basel vs PAOK Thessaloniki Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

  • 18:00
  • Expired
  • St. Jakob-Park
Basel
PAOK

odds when tipped

odds when tipped

odds when tipped

Basel vs PAOK Predictions

Having done more than enough to take a slender advantage with them to Switzerland, Greek outfit PAOK will be looking to finish off the job when they take on Basel at St. Jakob-Park on Wednesday night.

Basel may have lost last week, though the Swiss side probably won’t have boarded their flight back to Switzerland feeling too downbeat. In these two-legged European ties, a 2-1 loss on the road is never the worse result. An away-goal is an absolute must, so if you’re going to lose by a single-goal margin, make sure you at least get on the score-sheet, which is exactly what Basel did.

In truth, they may still be in with a chance as things stand, but Basel were very poor last week. They offered nowhere near enough resistance defensively, as they continued to allow PAOK a route to goal, while they could’ve done a lot more in the final third. On their own patch, Alexander Frei’s men can be expected to offer a bit more going forward, but they’ll need to tighten up massively if they’re to avoid conceding both chances and goals. The fact that they allowed PAOK no less than 16 shots, while they managed just six themselves, is simply not good enough.

On top of their rather lacklustre performance away in Greece last week, Basel’s recent record at home in qualifying for this competition isn’t overly inspiring. Back in 2016, they could only manage draws at home against both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ludogorets, while they conceded in both of those.

Unlike Basel, Wednesday’s visitors can be happy with their first-leg performance, though they may have left the pitch feeling that they hadn’t quite got what they fully deserved. In terms of attacking productivity and chances created, the Greeks were by far the better team, and they really ought to have scored more than the two they managed. However, they also conceded a couple of good opportunities, so perhaps 2-1 was a fair result.

What did become apparent during the first-leg was that Basel are susceptible to the counter-attack. At 1-0, PAOK had several opportunities to strike on the break, and they missed multiple promising opportunities before adding their second of the game in the 80th minute.

After their performance in the first-leg, coupled with their overall form, Basel, who’re without a win in all competitions this season, are easy to oppose. Moreover, it’s easy to feel that the hosts are overpriced. If PAOK can replicate their first-leg performance, then they’ll deploy another counter-attacking performance and secure safe passage to the next round. At the prices, backing the visitors to repeat the feat of scoring twice against a defensively inept home side represents a slice of value, while ‘PAOK Draw No Bet’ also stands out.

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