PAOK will face Moldovan Cup holders Zimbru Chișinău in the UEFA Europa League play-offs. The first leg will be held in Zimbru Stadium of the Moldovan capital on 21 August and the return leg at Toumba Stadium on 28 August.

Zimbru Chișinău are a traditional club of Moldovan football with 8 league titles and 6 domestic cups in their trophy cabinet. They won the latest edition of the Moldovan Cup (2014) but haven’t won the league since 2000.

Zimbru Chișinău’s coach is Oleg Kubarev who was appointed at the post in September 2013. To reach the UEFA Europa League play-offs, Zimbru eliminated KF Shkëndija of FYROM in the first round (2-1 defeat at Tetovo and 2-0 home win), then saw off CSKA Sofia (1-1 in Bulgaria, 0-0 at Moldova) and eventually claimed the scalp of Austrian outfit SV Grödig (won away 1-2 and then lost 1-0 at home).

The Moldovan league is underway. Zimbru Chișinău defeated FC Academia Chişinău 2-0 in the capital derby and then recorded a 1-0 win over Veris Chișinău on Sunday. On Saturday 16 August, they face FC Dinamo-Auto Tiraspol.

Last season, they finished 5th in the league standings. They have 7 Moldovan internationals in their ranks, with central forward Serghei Alexeev (signed this season from Veris) having scored 5 goals in 20 caps. He has already netted twice in the current UEL qualifiers and is considered their finest striker. Attacking forward Alexandru Dedov also stands out with his assists and dead-ball expertise. Iulian Erhan is the captain of the squad, who also claim three foreign players in their ranks: Belarussians Kirill Pavlyuchek (central defender) and Dzmitry Klimovich (left full-back) and French midfielder Jean-Marie Amani. Zimbru are a young squad, with an age average of 24,3 years.

Zimbru Stadium at Chișinău has a 10.500 capacity. Chișinău is the Moldovan capital with an approximate population of 800.000. Zimbru will visit Thessaloniki for the second time, as they faced Aris FC eleven years ago.