PAOK faced AEK Athens in the Super League Greece Round 5 first-leg at Toumba Stadium on Wednesday 13-05-2026, with PAOK lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation led by Zivkovic and AEK Athens deploying a 4-4-2 led by Vida.
Răzvan Lucescu, head coach of PAOK, oversaw the home side while Marko Nikolic managed AEK Athens for the fixture played at Toumba.
PAOK FC framed the evening as the club's last home game of the season, saying the match kicked off at 19:30 and describing it as a crucial contest in the battle for second place — a finish that PAOK noted would offer a place in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
The club set out logistical details for supporters: Toumba Stadium gates would open at 17:00 and Greek Police would conduct security pre-checks around the stadium ahead of the kickoff.
That public notice also contained a list of prohibited items and behaviours inside the ground: fireworks, firecrackers, smoke generators, flares, laser devices, throwing objects on the field, and banners with racist, insulting, political or sexual content were all banned for the occasion.
Those operational instructions supplied the night's weight: this was not only a tactical meeting on the pitch but a tightly managed event off it, with the home club signalling the match's competitive stakes — second place and the route it opens to the Champions League qualifiers — while the authorities set out visible security steps.
Context matters: PAOK presenting the game as decisive for second place makes the last home outing of the season more than ceremonial. In a season shaped by a handful of late fixtures, the club treated Wednesday's pairing against AEK as a hinge on which European prospects turn.
The tension was immediate and practical. The warm framing of a 'welcome' at 19:30 and the symbolic weight of a season-closing home game sat beside a long list of stadium prohibitions and police pre-checks — a reminder that high-stakes matches at Toumba combine sporting drama with strict crowd control measures.
What happens next is the question that matters most to supporters and the club: can Lucescu's PAOK convert the last home game advantage into the second-place finish that would hand them a berth in the Champions League qualifying rounds? The answer will define whether this night at Toumba is remembered for celebration or what might still be a season-long scramble for European access.
