Borac Banja Luka take on the visitors PAOK in the second leg of quarterfinals of EUFA Champions League qualification. First leg result: 2-3. The match will be played on Wednesday, July 31st at Gradski stadion Banja Luka (Banja Luka).
I think the Bosnian and Herzegovinian champion club, Borac Banja Luka, has already attracted quite a bit of attention and admiration with their attacking play in the current qualification for the main European tournament. So, who knows, we might soon see one of the "Red-Blue" forwards in a more affluent and prestigious team, like PAOK, for instance. After all, which soldier doesn’t dream of becoming a general, right? I'm saying this because if Borac continues to perform well, their players might start dreaming about the Bundesliga or the Premier League... Let me remind you that a week ago, Borac, true to their name, bravely went into an open battle against PAOK in the capital of Greek Macedonia, where it is notoriously difficult to play due to the extremely hostile local fans. And Banja Luka was fully rewarded for their courage, scoring two goals (2:3), keeping their chances alive to advance to the next phase of the Champions League qualification. It’s also worth noting that Vinko Marinović's squad didn't leave the field without scoring in the previous stage either, with goals against Albanian Egnatia (1:0, 1:2).
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As for PAOK, their defensive line, as it turned out, is currently the most vulnerable part of the "Black-Whites" from Thessaloniki. This isn't surprising in PAOK’s international play, as they often struggled defensively last European season against the likes of: Belgian Brugge (0:2, 0:1), Croatian Dinamo Zagreb (0:2, 5:1), Finnish HJK (4:2, 3:2), and Scottish Aberdeen (2:2, 3:2), among others.
I'll indulge in a bit of objective naivety here: if Borac managed to break through PAOK's defense twice in a rather unfriendly away atmosphere, then why couldn't Banja Luka do something similar at home? Especially with a strong ultras group, the Lešinari, supporting them - undoubtedly the best in Bosnia!... It's also worth noting that PAOK hasn’t managed a clean sheet in their last 12 consecutive European matches, with the Thessaloniki "Black-Whites" slipping up in 7 of these games. To add to their woes, PAOK will be without defender Taosis, center-back Nasberg, and right-back Lyratzis for this match.
Prediction for the match: Boruc to score over 1.0 goals – yes.
