PAOK v Spurs Preview - Opposition Fan View, Pub Ammo & Squad News

Tonight's game sees us travel to Greece for the first group game of our latest European campaign. Seen by many, including our manager, as an inconvenient interlude to the real business of the Premier League, especially with Liverpool up next on Sunday. We've left the majority of first teamers at home, which gives the fringe and young players a chance to impress and get some European experience on their CV's. (Full squad further down the page).
Seen by others as a real chance of winning some silverware, the line up is sure to disappoint, as just like a sulking child being dragged along to the supermarket kicking and screaming and making stupid remarks to the press, we appear to be going just because we have to. 

Opposition Fan View

Not the stereotypical Greek/PAOK fan

Half of the PAOK fans see us as the toughest game of the group, the other half think that because we are playing our kids and not taking the competition seriously, that they are in fact the favourites. The ones that think they will lose, are predicting a massive Tottenham based battering and are just wishing their players don't get injured, give a good showing, and not get embarrassed... which sounds a lot like Harry's wish list for this game. The ones that think they'll win, or at least not get battered, seem to be the more knowledgeable and up to date fans, as they are the ones who know exactly what players we'll be resting and who will be playing instead. They were most afraid of Bale, but in a way are a bit disappointed they won't get to see as one of them put it "the destroyers of Milans" in action.
PAOK Fans Verdict: PAOK Win 40%, Draw 20%, Spurs Win 40%

Pub Ammo
- Spurs are the highest ranked team in this years Europa League
- PAOK have made it through two qualifying rounds to get to the group stage.
- 4th in the Greek Superleague last year, they currently lie in joint 5th.
- Last year, PAOK were knocked out in the Europa League round of 32 by CSKA Moscow.
- PAOK's last 6 games have included 1 win, 2 draws, and 3 losses.
- The PAOK third kit is almost a complete copy and paste job from our home kit last season. (see right)
- Last season PAOK scored 32 in 30. And conceded 29 in those 30. So a draw is likely on the cards.
- The team name PAOK is derived from the full title, "Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans"... memorise that, it'll impress your mates... or make them think you're a utter knob.

Spurs Team News
As we all know, van der Vaart has had a right sulk on his website about being left out of the group stage squad. So the ever helpful football manager media whore Harry Redknapp has sensed that one of his star players is upset and has calmed the situation as a manager should, no doubt made things worse with this gem of a quote, "He was away in Holland having treatment. I would have sent him a carrier pigeon with a message but I didn't feel it was that important." Genius. Twat.

Moving on... Kyle Walker is the only player from Wolves to have made the trip. The squad list that has travelled is as follows: Gomes, Cudicini, Archer, Bassong, Corluka, Walker, Waller-Lassen, Livermore, Townsend, Fredericks, Carroll, Nicholson, Parrett, Pavlyuchenko, Dos Santos, Falque, Kane, Lancaster, Pritchard.
Possible starting XI:

Gomes

Walker   Bassong   Corluka   Townsend

Fredericks   Carroll   Livermore   Falque

Dos Santos

Pav

That's a fairly strong defence, one which I don't think PAOK will be able to breach, unless of course Gomes does a Gomes. On the other hand, the attack is weak / rusty, so I don't think we'll be breaching PAOK's defence either. Although I hope we don't, I predict we'll lose more players to injury than there will be goals in this game. 0-0.

Channels - Setanta Ireland, ESPN & ESPN-HD. KO is at 6.

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