Asteras Tripolis vs PAOK Match Preview

Asteras Tripolis faces PAOK for the 3rd round of the Greek Super League playoffs.

In the previous round, Asteras Tripolis failed to get a positive result against Aris, suffering a 2-0 away defeat. I think they deserved at least a point since they played well overall and created many goal-scoring chances. However, in the second half, they dropped their pace and conceded two goals, at the 69th minute and at the added time. After this defeat, they've dropped to the 6th spot with a total of 43 points, and their chances for a European ticket are very low.

PAOK on the other hand comes from a heavy 3-0 defeat against Panathinaikos on the road. Their defensive gaps led to this defeat while their attack was unable to penetrate Panathinaikos' defense. They found themselves back in the score at the 37th minute of the first half and in the second half Panathinaikos scored two more goals, securing their victory.

After this result, PAOK remains at the 3rd spot of the standings with a total of 50 points, and their margin from Panathinaikos was reduced to just 1 point while they are 4 points behind the second-placed, Aris. In the midweek cup game against AEK, the visitors won 1-0 on the road and got a huge lead that will help them qualify in the big final of the competition.

Asteras Tripolis will fight till the end for a European ticket and I think they have a good chance here to get at least a point. PAOK always struggling when playing at Asteras Tripolis' home ground, but we have to consider that they are coming from a big win and this could help them to make a good performance here. I expect a fast-paced game with a lot of goal-scoring chances, so I'll pick Over 2.5 goals to be scored, offered at decent 2.05 odds.