paokfc.gr/First Team/PAOK vs. Borac Banja Luka: Facts & Figures
PAOK vs. Borac Banja Luka: Facts & Figures
Ahead of PAOK’s UEFA Champions League 2nd qualifying round first-leg clash with Borac Banja Luka at Toumba Stadium, paokfc.gr puts you in the picture about the background to the match with some interesting facts and stats.
- For the 16th consecutive season, PAOK start their competitive obligations in July, or early August. The start of this streak came on July 30, 2009 against Valerega when PAOK won 2-1 away. This was the first time the club played in a European game earlier than August.
- Since then, PAOK have entered the process of qualifying for European events early, with 10 of their premieres taking place in July and five in August. This is PAOK’s 11th for the month of July and just their sixth at home in their 16-plus games.
- In the last five times that they started with a home match in the qualifiers, they won two, had two draws and lost only in the first home game, which was on July 30, 2013 (PAOK–Metalist Kharkiv 0-2).
- Last year, PAOK drew 0-0 with Beitar Jerusalem. At home they beat Basel 2-1 on 24 July 2018, drew (2-2) with Ajax on 6 August 2019 and won against Besiktas on 25 August 2020 by a 3-1 coreline.
- In 2013, they were defeated by Metalist 2-0, while last year it was a draw with Beitar (0-0). In their last three premieres PAOK did not manage to win, after being defeated 2-0 by Levski on July 21, 2022 and by Bohemians on August 3, 2021 by 2-1, while last year, on July 27, 2023, there was a goalless draw with Beitar.
- This is the seventh year they have been in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, with the first in 2004-05 being decided by a defeat against Maccabi in the first leg and entering again in 2010-11 against Ajax (1-1 in the Netherlands and 3-3 in Thessaloniki).
- In 2013-14, Metalist’s suspension led PAOK to the UEFA Champions League Play Offs for the first time, where they were eliminated by Schalke after a 1-1 draw in Germany and a 3-2 defeat in the Toumba.
- Ajax followed in 2016-17 in the 3rd qualifying round with a 1-1 draw in the Netherlands and a 2-1 loss in Thessaloniki.
- In 2018-19 PAOK progressed through two qualifying rounds and reached the Play Offs for the second time. They eliminated Basel with a 2-1 win in the Toumba and a win in Switzerland (3-0), then they beat Spartak Moscow 3-2 in Thessaloniki and drew 0-0 in Russia.
- In the Playoffs they drew 1-1 in Portugal with Benfica and lost 4-1 a the Toumba.
- The 2019-20 season was the last time they were in UEFA Champions League qualifying, where they again faced Ajax, with a 2-2 draw at the Toumba then followed by a 3-2 defeat in the Netherlands.
