In their ties against Brøndby IF, PAOK are likely to meet again rivals from past European encounters. One of them is Danish attacking midfielder Ronnie Schwartz who played for EA Guingamp last season and has joined the Danish outfit on loan. The 26-year old player featured against PAOK in the match held in France.

Teemu Pukki is also an old acquaintance of PAOK. The 25-year old Finland international striker scored twice in as many league defeats and netted three goals in previous rounds of the UEFA Europa League. Johan Elmander and Norway international Elba Rashani of Albanian origin also have a tally of three goals each.

After spells at Sevilla FC and Celtic FC, Pukki played for FC Schalke 04 when PAOK faced the Germans in the UEFA Champions League play-offs two years ago. The young Fin had come off the bench in the dying minutes of the first leg held at Gelsenkirchen.
 

After Schalke’s qualification at the expense of PAOK, Pukki will attempt to make it two out of two.

Johan Elmander’s name stands out in the roster of Brøndby IF. After starting his career in his home country Sweden, the 34-year old striker had spells in the Netherlands (Feyenoord, NAC Breda), France (Toulouse FC), England (Bolton Wanderers, Norwich City) and Turkey (Galatasaray SK), he ended up at Brøndby IF. In the last two seasons, he hasn’t been able to record his previous stats, an obvious sign that his best days are behind him.

Without “stars” and deprived of their starting goalkeeper

The biggest name of Brøndby IF’s roster this season is undoubtedly Daniel Agger, Denmark’s captain and former centre back of Liverpool FC. After spending eight years with the “Reds”, the 31-year old central defender returned to the club where he established himself.
 

At the age of 34, Johan Elmander remains a dangerous striker

Agger however won’t feature against PAOK, as he is recovering from an injury and is expected to stay sidelined until the end of August, according to Brøndby IF’s medical report.

Apart from Agger, the Danish side won’t be able to count on Lukáš Hrádecký, whose transfer to Eintracht Frankfurt was announced a few hours ago. The 25-year old Slovak-born Finnish goalkeeper started all their matches this season (3 in the league and 6 in Europe).

Thomas Kahlenberg is also considered a vital cog in the team. After four season spent at French outfit AJ Auxerre and four at VfL Wolfsburg, he returned to Brøndby IF, the of his youth. However he is also in the injury list and hasn’t featured in any official match since 22 March.