PAOK FC will look to get their UEFA Europa League Group A campaign off to a positive start against Tottenham Hotspur FC, with the Greek side featuring a number of players who know visiting boss Harry Redknapp well.
The clubs are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.
PAOK met Spurs’ north London rivals Arsenal FC in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup first round, prevailing 1-0 in Salonika and then drawing 1-1 in London. That is their only previous tie against an English side.
PAOK’s 86th-minute equaliser at Highbury was scored by by Zisis Vryzas, now PAOK’s technical director, and the club’s chairman and managing director Theodoros Zagorakis was also a member of that team.
Tottenham took on Olympiacos FC as UEFA Cup holders in their only previous tie against Greek opponents in the second round of the 1972/73 UEFA Cup; they lost their only previous game in Greece 1-0 but won the return fixture 4-0 in London.
Unbeaten in five European games – four since the start of this season – PAOK have lost just one of their last nine UEFA home games, 1-0 to PFC CSKA Moskva in last season’s UEFA Europa League round of 32. Only one visiting side scored more than once at the Toumbas Stadium in that run (AFC Ajax, who drew 3-3 in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round).
PAOK have won both of their home games in Europe this season, scoring five and conceding none.
Tottenham have won only one of their last five European games, 5-0 at Heart of Midlothian FC in this season’s UEFA Europa League play-offs. However, they have lost only one of their last four European games on the road (4-0 at Real Madrid CF in last season’s UEFA Champions League quarter-finals), and winning twice: at AC Milan (1-0 in the UEFA Champions League round of 16) and Hearts.