PAOK Salonika v Chelsea Betting Preview – UEFA Europa League 20th September 7.55pm
Chelsea will be happy with the draw that they have received in the UEFA Europa League. They start their campaign out on the road as they travel to Greece to take on PAOK. Chelsea are one of the main front-runners to win the tournament outright although it is likely that boss Maurizio Sarri will start rotating his squad. Read our predictions for the PAOK Salonika v Chelsea fixture.
PAOK Salonika News and Form
PAOK have a good record in that they haven’t lost to an English side before. They are W2 D2 from their previous four games against English opposition. On home soil, the Greeks are W1 D1 against English opposition. Last season PAOK suffered an early exit from Europe last season but that ended up turning out well for them on the domestic front as they finished second in their league and won the Greek Cup.
They have started this season in good form with a W6 D2 L1 record across all competitions. They started their European campaign in the Champions League qualifiers and they were stopped by Benfica. That dropped them down here. Each of their three home wins this season have all been by a one-goal margin. For our PAOK v Chelsea predictions we are looking under 2.5 goals at 17/20 odds* (betting odds taken from September 17th, 2018 at 10:32 pm). This is their 10th consecutive season in the UEFA Europa League and they are unbeaten at home in four previous Match Day One fixtures (W2 D2).
Chelsea News and Form
Following their fifth-place finish in the Premier League last season, the Blues ended up in the Europa League. Like PAOK, Chelsea are domestic cup holders after winning the FA Cup. This will be Chelsea’s first ever crack at the group stage of the Europa League. They were in the 2013 edition, but they entered the competition after having fallen out of the Champions League group stage. They went on to win the Europa League title that season.
We would expect Chelsea to start rotating their squad for their European adventures. They are on a four-match winning streak in the Premier League and it’s all been positive for them. As they may not be at full strength and they are on the road, Chelsea to win by a one-goal margin is at 13/5 odds* (betting odds taken from September 17th, 2018 at 10:32 pm). That looks a good fit because they can call on match winners from the bench if they need to. Chelsea are actually winless in four European games and they have lost two of their last three on the road.
PAOK Salonika v Chelsea Head to Head
This will be the first meeting in Europe between the two clubs.
PAOK Salonika v Chelsea Betting Odds*
Chelsea 5/6
Draw 13/5
PAOK 10/3
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on September 17th, 2018 at 2:12 p.m.)
Visit Bet365
PAOK Salonika v Chelsea Predictions
These types of games for the favorites are just about them getting the points on the board and the performance doesn’t really matter. We are going to bear that in mind and suggest for our PAOK v Chelsea predictions that the Blues will win by a one-goal margin.
