2026-2027 Europa League: PAOK vs. Anderlecht, Probable Lineups

PAOK and Anderlecht continue their quest for a spot among the 36 teams qualifying for the group stage of the 2026-2027 Europa League: the Thessaloniki club and the white-and-mauve team from the Brussels neighborhood of the same name will face off on Thursday evening at 7:45 p.m. Italian time (8:45 p.m. in Greece) at Toumba Stadium in the first leg of the third qualifying round of Europe’s second-tier competition.

PAOK has an Italian face on the bench: Alessio Lisci, who—after stints in Spain with Levante, Mirandés, and Osasuna, has moved to northern Greece to try to bring a trophy back to the black-and-white club after a disappointing season, which ended with a third-place finish in the league and a Greek Cup final loss in extra time to OFI Crete. In the previous round, PAOK secured a two-legged victory against another prestigious opponent, Dynamo Kyiv: a 3-2 win in the first leg at a neutral venue in Lublin, followed by a 2-0 victory in Thessaloniki.

Finishing fourth in the league (a title they haven’t won since 2017) after the final stage, Anderlecht also lost the Belgian Cup final, 3-1, to Union Saint-Gilloise. Their performance in European competitions hasn’t been much better: last year, they failed to qualify for the main round of the Europa League and, subsequently, the Conference League. More generally, the days when the White-and-Mauves were a European powerhouse—capable of winning the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1976 and 1978 and the UEFA Cup in 1983—are long gone.

Probable Lineups

PAOK (4-2-3-1): Pavlenka; Kenny, Hatzidiakos, Michailidis, Gomez; Santamaria, Zafeiris; Zivkovic, Konstantelias, Taison; Mythou. Coach: Lisci.

ANDERLECHT (4-4-2): Coosemans; Maamar, Petrot, Biancone, Augustinsson; Llansana, Kana, Saliba, Nga Kana; Seke, Sikan. Head Coach: Vitor Bruno.