Anderlecht
In the second leg of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, Anderlecht will host PAOK at Lotto Park in Brussels 13 August 2026 at 14:30 EDT / 11:30 PDT.
The Belgians brought an advantage back from Thessaloniki (1:0) and now have a favourable scenario: PAOK have to chase the game, which means there will be more open space. The Greeks are dangerous, but their league season has not started yet, while Anderlecht are already playing competitive matches every week.
Anderlecht's main asset at the moment is their tempo. Vítor Bruno took charge of the team in the summer, but they have already got past Hammarby (1:1, 3:1), won in Thessaloniki (1:0) and opened the league campaign with a 2:1 victory over La Louvière. At home, the Belgians did not merely grind down the league newcomers: they had 32 shots to five. That is bad news for PAOK — they will not be able to sit back for 90 minutes at Lotto Park.
The first leg in Greece was difficult: Mihajlo Cvetkovic scored after 16 seconds, while goalkeeper Colin Coosemans saved a penalty. Yet that match showed that Anderlecht can withstand opposition pressure. Everything changes now. PAOK have to push forward, while the hosts have Cvetkovic, Adriano Bertaccini and the pace to attack the open spaces.
PAOK should not be written off: they beat Dynamo Kyiv twice in the previous round — 3:2 and 2:0 — while adding Taha Ali and bringing Dimitris Giannoulis back in the summer. However, the visitors have concerns out wide ahead of the second leg: as recently as 10 August, Ali and Kiril Despodov were training individually. Crucially, the Greek Super League has not yet started, so the visitors lack match rhythm from league football.
PAOK have the quality to score, but their task is no longer simply to play cautiously — they need to overturn a one-goal deficit away from home. That forces them to open up. Anderlecht have already scored five goals at home in two competitive matches and won both. At odds of around 3.0, we are backing the hosts to win: they are in better match rhythm and will find space precisely when PAOK are forced to take risks.
Simone Sozza (Italy)
Matches - 8 (international matches, 2025-2026);
Average fouls per match - 21;
Average yellow cards per match (including second yellows) - 3.7;
Matches with red cards - 1 out of 8;
Matches with penalties - 4 out of 8.
|
Vítor Bruno
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Colin Maurice Coosemans
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Ali Maamar
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Giulian Biancone
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Léo Pétrot
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Marco Kana
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Moussa N'Diaye
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Enric Llansana Beuse
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Joshua-Williame Nga Kana
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Lukáš Ambros
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Danylo Sikan
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Mihajlo Cvetković
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Justin Heekeren
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Hans Carl Ludwig Augustinsson
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Kaïs Houdoussi Barry
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Zoumana Keita
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Basile Vroninks
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Nathan-Dylan Saliba
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Noah Kalonji
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Adriano Bertaccini
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Jayden Onia-Seke
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Noa Thomas Ojea Cobiella
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Oliver Antman
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Tristan Degreef
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Alessio Lisci
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Jiří Pavlenka
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Abdul Rahman Baba
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Aritz Elustondo Irribaria
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Giannis Michailidis
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Jonjoe Kenny
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Baptiste Santamaría
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Christos Zafeiris
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Giannis Konstantelias
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Andrija Živković
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Anestis Mythou
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Taison Barcellos Freda
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Antonis Tsiftsis
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Dimitrios Christos Giannoulis
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Dimitris Bataoulas
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Greg John Taylor
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Jonathan Germán Gómez Mendoza
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Konstantinos Thymianis
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Dimitris Pelkas
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Mohamed Mady Camara
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Tom Alexis Louchet
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Alexander Thomas Jeremejeff
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Dimitrios Chatsidis
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Shola Maxwell Shoretire
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
PAOK
Anderlecht
Anderlecht
Hammarby
Hammarby
Anderlecht
AEK Athens
Anderlecht
Anderlecht
AEK Athens
Sheriff
Anderlecht
Anderlecht
Sheriff
BK Häcken
Anderlecht
Anderlecht
BK Häcken
Anderlecht
Fenerbahce
PAOK
Anderlecht
PAOK
Dynamo Kyiv
Dynamo Kyiv
PAOK
Celta
PAOK
PAOK
Celta
Lyon
PAOK
PAOK
Real Betis
Ludogorets Razgrad
PAOK
PAOK
Brann
PAOK
BSC Young Boys
Europa League 2026/27
PAOK
Anderlecht
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Benfica
|
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13:3 | 12 |
|
2
|
Bournemouth
|
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11:2 | 12 |
|
3
|
Ferencvárosi
|
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11:3 | 12 |
|
4
|
Saint-Gilloise
|
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10:2 | 10 |
|
5
|
Juventus
|
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11:4 | 10 |
|
6
|
Olympiacos Piraeus
|
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4:1 | 10 |
|
7
|
Bayer 04
|
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8:1 | 9 |
|
8
|
Beşiktaş JK
|
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11:8 | 7 |
|
9
|
Dinamo Zagreb
|
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5:4 | 7 |
|
10
|
Levski Sofia
|
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4:3 | 7 |
|
11
|
Sunderland
|
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4:4 | 7 |
|
12
|
NEC Nijmegen
|
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8:9 | 7 |
|
13
|
Lyon
|
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6:7 | 7 |
|
14
|
AZ Alkmaar
|
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7:4 | 6 |
|
15
|
Anderlecht
|
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6:3 | 6 |
|
16
|
OFI Crete
|
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5:4 | 6 |
|
17
|
Rennes
|
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4:3 | 6 |
|
18
|
Omonia
|
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6:7 | 6 |
|
19
|
União Torreense
|
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7:9 | 6 |
|
20
|
Real Sociedad
|
|
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9:4 | 5 |
|
21
|
Crystal Palace
|
|
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9:6 | 5 |
|
22
|
Sparta Prague
|
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6:6 | 4 |
|
23
|
Hoffenheim
|
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6:6 | 4 |
|
24
|
Sturm Graz
|
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3:6 | 4 |
|
25
|
NK Celje
|
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5:9 | 4 |
|
26
|
Red Bull Salzburg
|
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3:8 | 4 |
|
27
|
Celta
|
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4:6 | 3 |
|
28
|
AC Milan
|
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4:7 | 3 |
|
29
|
Jagiellonia
|
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4:7 | 3 |
|
30
|
Viktoria Plzen
|
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3:7 | 3 |
|
31
|
Marseille
|
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2:6 | 3 |
|
32
|
Celtic
|
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6:11 | 3 |
|
33
|
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
|
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1:8 | 1 |
|
34
|
Lillestrom
|
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2:10 | 1 |
|
35
|
Lech
|
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2:12 | 1 |
|
36
|
Ararat-Armenia
|
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4:14 | 0 |
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Benfica
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7:2 | 6 |
|
2
|
Bournemouth
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6:0 | 6 |
|
3
|
Ferencvárosi
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6:2 | 6 |
|
4
|
Olympiacos Piraeus
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 6 |
|
5
|
Saint-Gilloise
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5:1 | 4 |
|
6
|
Juventus
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7:2 | 4 |
|
7
|
Beşiktaş JK
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6:3 | 4 |
|
8
|
NEC Nijmegen
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4:2 | 4 |
|
9
|
Rennes
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:1 | 4 |
|
10
|
Crystal Palace
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5:1 | 4 |
|
11
|
Sturm Graz
|
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3:3 | 4 |
|
12
|
Bayer 04
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
13
|
Dinamo Zagreb
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:4 | 3 |
|
14
|
Levski Sofia
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1:1 | 3 |
|
15
|
Sunderland
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 3 |
|
16
|
Lyon
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:2 | 3 |
|
17
|
AZ Alkmaar
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:3 | 3 |
|
18
|
Anderlecht
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:2 | 3 |
|
19
|
OFI Crete
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2:2 | 3 |
|
20
|
Omonia
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2:4 | 3 |
|
21
|
União Torreense
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4:4 | 3 |
|
22
|
Hoffenheim
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5:3 | 3 |
|
23
|
Jagiellonia
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:4 | 3 |
|
24
|
Celtic
|
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5:7 | 3 |
|
25
|
Real Sociedad
|
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2:3 | 1 |
|
26
|
Sparta Prague
|
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2:4 | 1 |
|
27
|
NK Celje
|
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2:5 | 1 |
|
28
|
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
|
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0:2 | 1 |
|
29
|
Lech
|
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1:5 | 1 |
|
30
|
Red Bull Salzburg
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:4 | 0 |
|
31
|
Celta
|
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2:4 | 0 |
|
32
|
AC Milan
|
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0:4 | 0 |
|
33
|
Viktoria Plzen
|
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1:5 | 0 |
|
34
|
Marseille
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | 0 |
|
35
|
Lillestrom
|
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1:9 | 0 |
|
36
|
Ararat-Armenia
|
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1:8 | 0 |
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Benfica
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6:1 | 6 |
|
2
|
Bournemouth
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5:2 | 6 |
|
3
|
Ferencvárosi
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5:1 | 6 |
|
4
|
Saint-Gilloise
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5:1 | 6 |
|
5
|
Juventus
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 6 |
|
6
|
Bayer 04
|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6:0 | 6 |
|
7
|
Olympiacos Piraeus
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:0 | 4 |
|
8
|
Dinamo Zagreb
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:0 | 4 |
|
9
|
Levski Sofia
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:2 | 4 |
|
10
|
Sunderland
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:2 | 4 |
|
11
|
Lyon
|
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3:5 | 4 |
|
12
|
Real Sociedad
|
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7:1 | 4 |
|
13
|
Red Bull Salzburg
|
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3:4 | 4 |
|
14
|
Beşiktaş JK
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5:5 | 3 |
|
15
|
NEC Nijmegen
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4:7 | 3 |
|
16
|
AZ Alkmaar
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4:1 | 3 |
|
17
|
Anderlecht
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:1 | 3 |
|
18
|
OFI Crete
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:2 | 3 |
|
19
|
Omonia
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4:3 | 3 |
|
20
|
União Torreense
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:5 | 3 |
|
21
|
Sparta Prague
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4:2 | 3 |
|
22
|
NK Celje
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3:4 | 3 |
|
23
|
Celta
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2:2 | 3 |
|
24
|
AC Milan
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4:3 | 3 |
|
25
|
Viktoria Plzen
|
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2:2 | 3 |
|
26
|
Marseille
|
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2:5 | 3 |
|
27
|
Rennes
|
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:2 | 2 |
|
28
|
Crystal Palace
|
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4:5 | 1 |
|
29
|
Hoffenheim
|
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1:3 | 1 |
|
30
|
Lillestrom
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 |
|
31
|
Sturm Graz
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:3 | 0 |
|
32
|
Jagiellonia
|
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1:3 | 0 |
|
33
|
Celtic
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:4 | 0 |
|
34
|
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
|
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1:6 | 0 |
|
35
|
Lech
|
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1:7 | 0 |
|
36
|
Ararat-Armenia
|
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3:6 | 0 |
