PAOK lands Champions League tie against Ukraine’s Metalist
The Champions league draw on Friday was rather kind to PAOK as the Greek league runner-up will face Metalist Kharkiv of Ukraine in the third qualifying round of the competition later this month.
PAOK has therefore avoided the biggest names in the draw, such as PSV Eindhoven and Lyon, and stands a decent chance of advancing to the playoffs of the Champions League, with a view to the lucrative group stage.
The first match will be played in Thessaloniki on July 30/31 with the return leg in the Ukraine on August 6/7. PAOK will stage its home game behind closed doors.
In the Europa League third qualifying round, Asteras will play Rapid Vienna, with the first game at Tripoli on August 1, while if Xanthi overturns the 1-0 deficit from the first leg against Linfield it will play the winner of the tie between KR of Iceland and Standard Liege of Belgium, with the first match at Xanthi. The return games will take place on August 8.
