AEK searching for maiden derby win against undefeated Olympiacos 
 

SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 21

AGONAsport previews the headline Super League derby between AEK and Olympiacos at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

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12 games and counting. Since the 2017/2018 campaign, AEK are yet to defeat Olympiacos, Panathinaikos or PAOK across all competitions, with their winless streak in derbies now standing at 12 consecutive matches. In the first half of the campaign, the Kitrinomavri battled hard at the Karaiskakis Stadium against Olympiacos, but two goals from Ruben Semedo and Mohamed Camara secured a 2-0 victory for the hosts:

AEK, who have gradually been progressing with more consistency since Massimo Carrera replaced Nikos Kostenoglou at the helm, currently sit in a distant third place of the Super League standings, trailing leaders Olympiacos by a large 13 points with 20 rounds in the books. It will take a miracle for AEK to somehow challenge Olympiacos and PAOK for the title.

Olympiacos, on the other hand, are battling to protect first position of the table, as they continue to hold a slender one-point lead over reigning champions PAOK. Undefeated in 30 successive Super League games, Pedro Martins’ troops boast plenty of confidence, and they haven’t lost against AEK in the domestic championship since February 2018 when Giorgos Giakoumakis struck the winner in stoppage time in Piraeus. 

The Erythrolefki have won 15 and drawn five of the league games so far this season, only conceding a mere eight goals along the way. Moroccan striker Youssef El Arabi, perhaps the most shrewd signing of 2019, has been ruthless in the box for Olympiacos, tallying 14 goals in 19 Super League games. 

In stark contrast, AEK have struggled defensively, with opposing teams finding the back of the net on 21 occasions against the Enosis.

Midweek, AEK produced a strong performance to defeat Volos 3-1 on the road with Marios Oikonomou, Christos Almpanis and Viktor Klonaridis scoring, while Olympiacos edged past OFI 1-0 in Heraklion thanks to a goal from Camara:

TEAM NEWS: AEK

In comparison to the game against Volos, Carrera is predicted to change his formation, switching to a 4-3-3 system with Oikonomou and Ognjen Vranjes playing in the middle of defence. Ukrainian centre-back Dmytro Chygrynskiy misses out through injury.

Marko Livaja, back from suspension, is highly likely to be included in the starting line-up, with Nelson Oliveira remaining on the bench. Oliveira, boasting nine league goals to his name, is supposedly on the brink of transferring to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League.

Klonaridis, fresh from scoring his first goal of the campaign against Volos, could be shifted out to the right. If he doesn’t start, Daniele Verde most probably will. 

Possible line-up: Barkas, Lopes, Oikonomou, Vranjes, Bakakis, Simoes, Krsticic, Szymanski, Mantalos, Klonaridis, Livaja.

TEAM NEWS: OLYMPIACOS

Unfortunately for Olympiacos, Ruben Semedo received a red card for a scrap following the completion of the match against OFI, meaning that he is not available for selection on Sunday. Veteran defender Avraam Papadopoulos is expected to replace Semedo in the centre of the Olympiacos defence.

Gifted Portuguese winger Daniel Podence, reportedly on the verge of joining Wolves in England for 30 million euros, has been included in the squad. Martins will continue using the 4-3-3 formation.

Possible line-up: Sa, Tsimikas, Papadopoulos, Ba, Elabdellaoui, Bouchalakis, Camara, Guilherme, Valbuena, Masouras, El Arabi.

REFEREE: MATEJ JUG (SLOVENIA)

Slovenian referee Jug, 39, will take charge of proceedings at the Olympic Stadium.

In the 2019/2020 campaign, Jug has been the man in the middle for five matches in the UEFA Europa League, dishing out a grand total of 22 yellow cards and issuing one penalty. Interestingly, he refereed the Bayern Munich - AEK game in the 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League, giving the Germans a spot-kick as they triumphed 2-0.

Jug also oversaw proceedings when AEK drew 0-0 in Ukraine against Dynamo Kyiv in the 2017/2018 Europa League.

Assistant referees: Matej Zunic (SLO), Manuel Vidali (SLO)

Fourth official: Dimitris Karantonis (GRE)

Video assistant referee system: Stefanos Koubarakis (GRE), Chrysoula Kourompylia (GRE)

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