PAOK Thessaloniki vs Heart Of Midlothian FC Prediction & Betting Tips - Conference League

Prediction published on 29/08/2023, 16:10  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 30/08/2023 at 07:34 in Conference League Predictions

PAOK will play host to Hearts in the second leg of the Conference League playoff qualifiers on Thursday evening. The hosts currently lead the tie 2-1. PAOK started the first leg slowly and were 1-0 behind within the first ten minutes. However, they grew into the game as it went on and were the better side over the full 90 minutes. The Double-Headed Eagle comes into this match off the back of a 2-1 win over Kifisia in the Super League. With that result, they are now on a four-match winning streak and unbeaten in seven matches this season. The hosts have beaten Beitar Jerusalem 4-1 and Hajduk Split 3-0 on aggregate in the previous two rounds of this competition. They also kept clean sheets in both home matches against those teams. PAOK only reached the second round of qualifying in this competition last season but are the favourites to win this match. 

Meanwhile, Lawrence Shankland gave his side the lead in the first leg, but they were only able to hold on to their advantage for three minutes. Hearts only managed 45% of possession in the match and ten shots at goal compared to their opponents 14. They followed up their first-leg defeat with another loss over the weekend to Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership. That saw them slip to fifth place in the league standings, still on four points after three matches. While they won their first away league match of the season, Hearts' form on the road has been far from impressive. They failed to win any of their final seven away matches last season, losing five and drawing two. HMFC finished third in Group A of this competition last term and managed six points in their six matches. Bookmakers are giving them about a 7/1 chance of winning this one.