Dynamo Kyiv
On Thursday, 23 July, Dynamo Kyiv and PAOK Thessaloniki will play the first leg of the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. The match will kick off at 18:00 BST at Arena Lublin in Lublin.
The Kyiv side reached this stage after a difficult tie against Romanian club FC Universitatea Cluj, with the winner decided only by a penalty shootout. PAOK Thessaloniki battled for the Greek title until the final round in the spring, so Igor Kostyuk's team are starting the round with a serious test.
In the selected line, PAOK Thessaloniki are slight favourites: an away win is priced at 2.25, while Dynamo Kyiv are around 3.00. The explanation is obvious. The Greek side had a strong season and finished third in the league: 64 points with a goal difference of 59:25, averaging 1.84 goals scored and 0.78 conceded per match. Dynamo Kyiv finished fourth in the Ukrainian Premier League and earned a place in the UEFA Europa League by winning the Ukrainian Cup.
But last season's table does not tell the whole story. For PAOK Thessaloniki, this will be the first competitive match of the season, and the team have only just started working with a new coach. Alessio Lisci replaced Razvan Lucescu in the summer, and his football has not yet been tested in European qualification. The Greek side lost their latest friendly to Twente (2:3). The confirmed squad losses are Magomed Ozdoev, who left the club after his contract expired, and Fedor Chalov, who injured his meniscus and underwent surgery.
Dynamo Kyiv have a different advantage — match rhythm. Igor Kostyuk's team have already played two matches against FC Universitatea Cluj and did not concede: two 0:0 draws, followed by a penalty shootout win (4:2). They are struggling in attack for now, and there is no hiding that. But the defence came through both matches without costly errors. Lublin is also a familiar place for the Kyiv side: the club have been playing European home matches here for more than one season.
The history here is more of a backdrop. The teams' only meetings came in the autumn of 1976, when Dynamo Kyiv won both matches by an aggregate score of 6:0. Almost half a century later, those results decide nothing, but they show how rarely these clubs cross paths.
A Dynamo Kyiv win is primarily a bet on the hosts' match rhythm and PAOK Thessaloniki's rebuild under a new coach. It is still too early to call the line obviously skewed: the Kyiv side have not scored a single goal in the competitive season yet, while the visitors should be fresher physically. But at this price, the risk is justified — especially if Dynamo Kyiv again withstand the early pressure and prevent PAOK Thessaloniki from scoring first. The Kyiv side need to take the maximum in Lublin: in the return leg at Toumba Stadium, even a small slip will be much harder to repair.
Sandi Putros (Denmark)
Matches — 6 (international matches, 2025-2026);
Average fouls per match — 22;
Average yellow cards per match (including second yellows) — 3.5;
Matches with red cards — 1 out of 6;
Matches with penalties — 3 out of 6.
|
Igor Kostyuk
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Ruslan Neshcheret
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Kristian Bilovar
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Taras Mykhavko
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Tomasz Karol Kędziora
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Vladyslav Dubinchak
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Mykola Shaparenko
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Nazar Voloshyn
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Oleksandr Pikhalionok
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Volodymyr Brazhko
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Eduardo Antonio Guerrero Locano
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Matvii Ponomarenko
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Illia Olkhovyi
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Viacheslav Surkis
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Aliou Thiare
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Denys Dykyi
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Maksym Korobov
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Andrii Yarmolenko
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Bohdan Redushko
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Justin Antonius Lonwijk
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Navin Malysh
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Valentyn Rubchynskyi
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Vitalii Buialskyi
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Vladyslav Herych
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Alessio Lisci
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Jiří Pavlenka
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Giannis Michailidis
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Jonathan Germán Gómez Mendoza
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Jonjoe Kenny
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Pantelis Hatzidiakos
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Baptiste Santamaría
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Christos Zafeiris
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Giannis Konstantelias
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Taha Abdi Ali
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Andrija Živković
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Anestis Mythou
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Antonis Tsiftsis
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Dimitris Monastirlis
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Abdul Rahman Baba
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Aritz Elustondo Irribaria
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Dimitris Bataoulas
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Konstantinos Thymianis
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Lefteris Lyratzis
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Dimitris Pelkas
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Mohamed Mady Camara
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Alexander Thomas Jeremejeff
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Dimitrios Chatsidis
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Taison Barcellos Freda
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
Universitatea Cluj
Dynamo Kyiv
Dynamo Kyiv
Universitatea Cluj
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Juventus
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5:0 | 3 |
|
2
|
Crystal Palace
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:0 | 3 |
|
3
|
Sparta Prague
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 3 |
|
4
|
Beşiktaş JK
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 3 |
|
5
|
Saint-Gilloise
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:0 | 3 |
|
6
|
Ferencvárosi
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 3 |
|
7
|
Benfica
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 |
|
8
|
Bayer 04
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 |
|
9
|
OFI Crete
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 |
|
10
|
Bournemouth
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
11
|
Lyon
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
12
|
União Torreense
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
13
|
Olympiacos Piraeus
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
14
|
Red Bull Salzburg
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 |
|
15
|
Omonia
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 |
|
16
|
Sunderland
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 |
|
17
|
Dinamo Zagreb
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:0 | 1 |
|
18
|
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:0 | 1 |
|
19
|
Rennes
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:0 | 1 |
|
20
|
Sturm Graz
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:0 | 1 |
|
21
|
Jagiellonia
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
|
22
|
Anderlecht
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
|
23
|
Lillestrom
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
|
24
|
Real Sociedad
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
|
25
|
AZ Alkmaar
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | 0 |
|
26
|
Celta
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | 0 |
|
27
|
Levski Sofia
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | 0 |
|
28
|
Celtic
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:3 | 0 |
|
29
|
NK Celje
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:2 | 0 |
|
30
|
Hoffenheim
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:2 | 0 |
|
31
|
AC Milan
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:2 | 0 |
|
32
|
Marseille
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:4 | 0 |
|
33
|
Ararat-Armenia
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:4 | 0 |
|
34
|
Viktoria Plzen
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:3 | 0 |
|
35
|
Lech
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:4 | 0 |
|
36
|
NEC Nijmegen
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:5 | 0 |
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Juventus
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5:0 | 3 |
|
2
|
Crystal Palace
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:0 | 3 |
|
3
|
Beşiktaş JK
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 3 |
|
4
|
Bayer 04
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 |
|
5
|
OFI Crete
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 |
|
6
|
Olympiacos Piraeus
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
7
|
Omonia
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 |
|
8
|
Sunderland
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 |
|
9
|
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:0 | 1 |
|
10
|
Sturm Graz
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:0 | 1 |
|
11
|
Sparta Prague
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
12
|
Saint-Gilloise
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
13
|
Ferencvárosi
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
14
|
Benfica
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
15
|
Bournemouth
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
16
|
Lyon
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
17
|
União Torreense
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
18
|
Red Bull Salzburg
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
19
|
Dinamo Zagreb
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
20
|
Rennes
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
21
|
Jagiellonia
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
22
|
Anderlecht
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
|
23
|
Lillestrom
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
|
24
|
Real Sociedad
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
|
25
|
AZ Alkmaar
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
26
|
Celta
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
27
|
Levski Sofia
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | 0 |
|
28
|
Celtic
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:3 | 0 |
|
29
|
NK Celje
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
30
|
Hoffenheim
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
31
|
AC Milan
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:2 | 0 |
|
32
|
Marseille
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
33
|
Ararat-Armenia
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:4 | 0 |
|
34
|
Viktoria Plzen
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:3 | 0 |
|
35
|
Lech
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
36
|
NEC Nijmegen
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Sparta Prague
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 3 |
|
2
|
Saint-Gilloise
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:0 | 3 |
|
3
|
Ferencvárosi
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 3 |
|
4
|
Benfica
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 |
|
5
|
Bournemouth
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
6
|
Lyon
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
7
|
União Torreense
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 |
|
8
|
Red Bull Salzburg
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 |
|
9
|
Dinamo Zagreb
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:0 | 1 |
|
10
|
Rennes
|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:0 | 1 |
|
11
|
Juventus
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
12
|
Crystal Palace
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
13
|
Beşiktaş JK
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
14
|
Bayer 04
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
15
|
OFI Crete
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
16
|
Olympiacos Piraeus
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
17
|
Omonia
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
18
|
Sunderland
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
19
|
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
20
|
Sturm Graz
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
21
|
Jagiellonia
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 0 |
|
22
|
Anderlecht
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
23
|
Lillestrom
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
24
|
Real Sociedad
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
25
|
AZ Alkmaar
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | 0 |
|
26
|
Celta
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | 0 |
|
27
|
Levski Sofia
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
28
|
Celtic
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
29
|
NK Celje
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:2 | 0 |
|
30
|
Hoffenheim
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:2 | 0 |
|
31
|
AC Milan
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
32
|
Marseille
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1:4 | 0 |
|
33
|
Ararat-Armenia
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
34
|
Viktoria Plzen
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 0 |
|
35
|
Lech
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:4 | 0 |
|
36
|
NEC Nijmegen
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:5 | 0 |
