Matchday 5 of the 2024/25 Europa League group stage between RFS (Latvia) and PAOK (Greece) will take place on November 28 at the Daugava Stadium in Riga. RFS vs. PAOK: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Julian Weinberger (Austria)
Matches – 7 (International matches, 2023/24–2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 36;
Average yellow cards per match – 5.1;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 25;
Penalties – 43%.
Predicted lineups for RFS vs. PAOK
RFS (3-5-2): Devis Epassy – Daniels Balodis, Herdi Prenga, Haruna Rasid Nji – Lasha Odisharia, Dmitrijs Zelenkovs, Stefan Panic, Adam Marhiev, Roberts Savalnieks – Janis Ikaunieks, Alen Quadjo.
PAOK (4-5-1): Dominik Kotarski – Jhonny, Omar Colley, Tomasz Kedziora, Abdul Rahman Baba – Magomed Ozdoev, Stefan Schwab, Andrija Zivkovic, Mohamed Camara, Taison – Tarik Tissoudali.
Each team is listed with the starting lineup from their previous match in this tournament.
RFS
The team drew their previous Europa League match against Anderlecht with a score of 1-1. As a result, RFS still has no wins in the group stage of the tournament (2 draws, 2 losses). With these results, the club is ranked 32nd in the Europa League standings, trailing the playoff zone by 2 points. The Latvian team has scored half as many goals as they have conceded, with a goal difference of 4:8. Notably, both of RFS's home games in the group stage ended in draws.
- The club's winless streak in the Europa League stands at 5 matches (2 draws and 3 losses in regular time).
- The team has failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 6 matches in this tournament.
- At home, RFS has not lost in their last 4 matches in the second-tier European competition (2 wins, 2 draws).
PAOK
The Greek club suffered their third defeat in the group stage (1 draw), losing 0-2 to Manchester United in the previous round. Like their upcoming opponent, PAOK has not managed to keep a clean sheet in the main stage of the current Europa League campaign. The team has conceded the same number of goals as RFS, while scoring one less than the Riga side. With one point, PAOK is just behind their upcoming opponent in the Europa League standings, occupying the 33rd position.
- At least one opponent failed to score in 5 of the club's last 7 Europa League matches.
- The team has lost 7 of their last 9 away matches in the second-tier European competition (1 win, 1 draw).
- PAOK has conceded at least twice in 4 of their last 5 away Europa League matches.
RFS vs. PAOK: Match Prediction
Both teams have struggled in the Europa League group stage. However, unlike PAOK, RFS can boast that they have not lost at home in this tournament so far. Including qualification matches, the Riga side has 2 wins and 2 draws at home. On the other hand, the Greek club has performed poorly on the road in the second-tier European competition, losing 7 of their last 9 matches. Therefore, I disagree with the bookmakers who have made the visitors clear favorites for the upcoming match.
RFS has not lost at home in the main stage of the tournament against much stronger opponents than PAOK, such as Galatasaray (2-2) and Anderlecht (1-1). Additionally, the Riga team has been aggressive in defense in the current Europa League campaign, being the best team in this metric (80). Even if the Greeks manage to pull off a miracle and win in Riga, it is unlikely to be a large margin. I believe a reliable bet would be a positive handicap on the hosts.
My prediction – RFS with a handicap (+1)
