Razvan Lucescu’s plan for tonight’s game against Marseille (22:00) will require focus, discipline and plenty of mileage for PAOK to take the lead for the Conference League semi-finals.
Tonight (10:00 p.m., COSMOTE SPORT 2 HD and LIVE by Sportish), PAOK is playing one of the most important games in its European history. Dikefalos meets Marseille at the Velodrome and wants to return to Thessaloniki with a result that can make it at home and qualify for the “4” of the Conference League. Something that will be a unique achievement for the Thessaloniki team.
The difficulty of today’s game is obviously high. One only has to imagine that Razvan Lucescu’s side will face a side that aims not only to reach the final, but also to win the cup. “Marseille has long been untitled and we must live up to its name”said Jorge Sampaoli in the press conference, setting the tone for how he faces the quarter-finals.
For the PAOK coach, the matter is clear. Biceps in Velontrom will go to a puzzle. “Patience during the game, patience to deal with stressful situations, to correctly assess the chances that are presented to us”, recommended Razvan Lutsescu, who has no problems other than the absence of Giannis Michailidis.
Lutsescu’s plans for the eleven
The Romanian coach will bet on Alexandros Paschalakis’ ability to declare himself ‘present’ in his team’s big games and will pick him again for the position under the bars.
In defence, Lyratzis will start on the right, Vierinia on the left, with Ingasson and Crespo being the duo in the stoppers. Lucescu is counting on the experience of his leader and the Spaniard, the stability of Ingason and the energy that young Lefteris Lyratzis brings to his team’s defensive functions, who said he has long been “ready” for games like tonight.
What is certain is that the defenders will need help against a side like Marseille, which usually attack with many players in front of the ball. It is important that the central midfielders Kurtic, Tsigaras and Douglas Augusto play in front of them and are the first lever in the French attack attempt.
The two extremes will have a double duty as they will have to cover the back but also capitalize on the gaps left by Marseille’s defenders. Andrija Zivkovic, who usually plays well in Europe, is regularly disciplined even when he’s not attacking.
The Serb will cover the right end of Dikefalos’ attack. If there is a question mark next to the possible eleven, play is played on the left. Diego Biseswar seems to have the lead while Razvan Lucescu can find solutions from Omar El Kaddouri, Alexandrou Mitritsa or even – probably during the game – Cindley.
Tsuba Akpom, who will play at the front of the attack, seems to be in good shape and is showing energy in the games. As Lucescu said, today is a game that requires its players to expend a lot of energy.
A platform full of PAOK friends, not Velontrom
PAOK will play in the Velontrom with the support of more than 3000 of its fans. At the same time, the French estimate that the rest of the stadium will not be full. Marseille’s friends haven’t played much in his side’s home games against Karabakh and Basel in recent rounds. Tonight, however, more visitors are expected in the game against PAOK.
