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Go BookieCo for the efforts of Cypriot and Greek teams in Conferences and Europa League
Many interesting games will take place on Thursday night in the Europa and Confederations League, with the efforts of the Cypriot and Greek teams attracting the most interest.
APOEL-FK BORAC BANJA LUKA (19:45)
APOEL will be looking for their first win in the Conferences League against Banja Luka on Matchday 2. The unexpected - based on the way the game unfolded - draw against Samroq, set in motion the developments on the bench for the Blues, with Manolo Jimenez taking over from Jose Dominguez, who was also beaten by AEK Athens before leaving the club.
The Spaniard's debut on the APOEL bench was a positive one, as he led the Nicosia side to an easy 5-0 away win over Omonia Aradippou. However, the expected win is not a measure of APOEL's improvement, which will be decided in games like today's.
However, the Bosnian team, which has former Doxa goalkeeper Siskovski on its roster, needs special attention after drawing with Panathinaikos (1-1) in the opening game.
APOEL are favourites in the match, with Jimenez not facing any particular problems.
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN FC -AC OMONIA NICOSIA (19:45)
It was a "bumpy" landing for Omonia in their resumption of their campaign, as they unexpectedly lost 1-0 to ENP at the GSP, leaving them at -7 from leaders Paphos.
The Greens are urged to return to positive results immediately in order to gain the necessary psychology for the difficult next stage.
Omonia's mission travelled to Scotland with optimism, however, they will have to be effective in attack and focused in defence against Hearts, who celebrated their first win in the league last weekend, against St. Mirren with a 4-0 victory.
The two teams started their Conferences League campaign on a winning note, with Omonia beating Vikingur 4-0 and Hearts beating Dynamo Minsk 2-1 away from home.
The team from Nicosia is better in theory and clearly of better quality. Dambrauskas is not facing a serious absence problem and therefore is expected to field the best available.
Jovetic, who was acquired after the UEFA list was completed, is ineligible.
PANATHINAIKOS - CHELSEA (19:45)
A game with a huge degree of difficulty awaits Panathinaikos. The Greens will host Chelsea in the packed OAKA for the 2nd round of the Conferences League and hope to surprise against their huge rivals.
The positive for Panathinaikos is that they are coming off a double in Crete against OFI, while the London Blues were beaten 2-1 in the derby by Liverpool.
In the opening game, Panathinaikos drew 1-1 away to Borac Bania Luka, while Chelsea beat Ghent 4-2 in London.
Diego Alonso will not count on the services of Fotis Ioannidis and Philip Max, while Andraz Sporar, who has been suffering from a virus, will be in the squad.
Chelsea are expected to line up with changes, but it is dicey to predict the number.
PAOK - FC VICTORIA PLZEN (19:45)
PAOK will be looking for their first victory in the Europa League against Plzen in the 3rd round of the competition.
After defeats to Galatasaray and Steauawa, the bicephalos are on the ropes and therefore victory is a non-negotiable goal. In case of another loss of points then the situation will become very difficult regarding the qualification case.
Neither the Czechs have tasted the joy of victory, nor the bitterness of defeat, as they have two draws to their name.
Bamba's participation is doubtful, while Lovren, Murg, Vieirinha and Gomez are ineligible for the European competition
German side Heidenheim are Paphos' next European challenge, who are in excellent form.
Carcedo's team is unstoppable and will host their opponent with wild intentions, which has a slight advantage due to its origin.
Last matchday they lost to Gladbach 3-2, while Paphos easily beat Carmiotissa 4-0.
Both teams started on the right foot in the Conferences League.
MALMO - OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS (22:00)
Olympiacos Piraeus will be tested in icy Scandinavia in the 3rd round of the Europa League. The Piraeus team will be hosted by Swedish Malmo and aims to overcome the shock of Levadeiakos.
Olympiacos was winning 2-0 at home, but managed to tie the game and goalless, causing a lot of turmoil in the team's ranks.
On their 100th anniversary, the reds want to celebrate with a championship, but they will have to change a lot to fulfill their goal.
The championship can wait, as an equally important game will be played today. After the win over Braga, Olympiacos is optimistic to celebrate its first double in the competition against Malmö, which beat Karabakh 2-1 on the road last week and is leading the Swedish league standings.