And now… Slovan
The deryb win over AEK is now consigned to memory. PAOK have kept the positive points from the game in mind, as well as the aspects that need improvement as the attention turns to Europe once more. And the next challenge is that of Slovan Bratislava at the Toumba on Thursday (30.09, 22:00).
Sunday’s victory was a much-needed boost that has helped the whole team. It was a victory that has brought confidence, elevated the collective psychology of the squad, and gave the club three valuable points. It was also victory that showed that the team, although at an early stage, is on the right track.
Players and coaching staff took a breather on Monday (27.09) and are now preparing for the game against Slovan, a key game in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.
On Tuesday (28.09) afternoon, the preparations for the match against the Slovaks began in earnest. The players who started against AEK followed a special program on the pitch and then did some recovery work in the gym. The rest of the group did a high-intensity training with an emphasis on tactics and ball movement.
Sunday’s derby brought two new personnel problems. Fernando Varela, who was left out due to feeling some discomfort in his stomach, underwent treatment today in an effort to get him fit and available for Razvan Lucescu for Sunday’s (03.10) match against OFI.
Additionally, Thomas Murg, who left the field with a blow to the left ankle, underwent an MRI scan that showed that he had suffered some bruising. The Austrian midfielder has already started treatment and his participation in the matches with Slovan Bratislava and OFI will depend on his body’s reaction to the treatment.
Andelino Vieirinha participated in part of the training session and he will try to train fully on Wednesday (29.09), and after that the technical staff will decide whether he will play a part in the game against Slovan or not.
Meanwhile, longer-term injury trio Jose Crespo, Ingi Ingason and Omar El Kaddouri worked individually on the pitch, the gym and swimming pool.
On Wednesday (29.09) PAOK will train at 10:30 in Nea Mesimvria and at 13:30 Razvan Lutsescu and representative of the players will speak to the press at the Toumba Stadium for the pre-match news conference.
Respectively, Slovan will train at 20:00 at the Toumba and earlier at 19:30 they will have their pre-match press conference.
The first 15 minutes of training will be open to media representatives.
