Battle of the former teammates as Ouzounidis faces former club for first time
| Panathinaikos | 19:00 (GR) | AEK |
|---|---|---|
| Sat, 3-Nov |
Panathinaikos host AEK in the headline fixture of Matchday 9 of the Greek Super League and AGONAsport’s Nick Tsambouniaris previews the encounter.
Panathinaikos host AEK in the headline fixture of Matchday 9 of the Greek Super League. The hosts, on the back of a short turnaround in the League, will be looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season and will be cheered on by their buoyant fan base. The visitors will have this down as a ‘must win’ to retain their Super League title and are coming off consecutive 4-0 wins in all competitions.
This derby between two Athenian giants has delivered some great footballing moments over the years, and this fixture will not disappoint. The main talking point will undoubtedly be concerned with the dugouts, as AEK boss Marinos Ouzounidis faces the club he departed only a few months ago.
Ouzounidis, as a former Panathinaikos player, guided the club through its darkest period last season amid off-field turmoil but left with the offer of coaching in the UEFA Champions League. Ironically, his replacement and former Trifylli teammate Giorgos Donis, has stolen the show when it comes to managers this season. Under Donis, the young Greens have been transformed into a free-flowing attacking force.
This spells danger for AEK as they can ill-afford another defeat. It would leave their title defence in tatters, considering the Enosi have already been deducted 3 points this season due to crowd troubles. They cannot take this young Panathinaikos side lightly, who will look to come out on the front foot and impress in front of what is expected to be a big crowd at OAKA. Football, and in particular derby matches, are rarely won on paper. Even though AEK possess the stronger side, they will need to be ready. Panathinaikos captain Dimitris Kourbelis spoke ahead of the match and said derbies are all about “passion, strength and efficiency”.
The atmosphere will be great, but it will not be hostile towards Ouzounidis, who is still held in high regard by Panathinaikos fans. Leading into the match, the now-AEK manager stated how “happy” he is that Panathinaikos has overcome such an uncertain time in its history, but is “now the coach of AEK”. It will be interesting to see how he sets the Enosi up to play, keeping in mind they travel to Germany to face Bayern Munich a few days later.
There is a mutual respect between the two former teammates in the dugout, but there are players on both sides who have also turned out in opposition colours in recent years. Viktor Klonaridis and Niklas Hult, now of AEK, were once Panathinaikos players, whilst Dimitris Kolovetsios has gone the other way. In addition, Nikos Lymberopoulos (the technical director of AEK) played for both clubs and left the Greens to join the Enosi to work in the same role.
Panathinaikos suffered their first loss of the season at Toumba but were far from embarrassed, more than holding their own against a strong PAOK side. Donis will be looking to attack AEK from the onset with Tasos Chatzigiovannis, Giannis Bouzoukis and Federico Macheda. The Italian has not scored in his last two and will be seeking to change that. The psychology of the team will be vital considering the young age of most players.
AEK have been a bit ‘hit and miss’ this season, but were outstanding as they tore apart a decent Aris outfit. They are still in the title race and in players such as Marko Livaja, Petros Mantalos and Ezequiel Ponce can never be underestimated. They did lose last season’s core group of players, so this largely new group may have needed time to gel under a new coach.
AEK scored a last ditch goal at Leoforos to steal a 1-1 draw at Leoforos last season in what was a hot-tempered derby. They then went on to win the return match at OAKA 3-0 en route to winning the League.
TEAM NEWS: PANATHINAIKOS
Donis was contemplating a shift to a back three, featuring Vangelis Oikonomou, Achilleas Poungouras and Theofanis Mavromatis since Kolovetsios picked up a slight injury at Toumba. However, reports indicate he should be fit to play. French winger Anthony Mounier is now back at full fitness, while Omri Altman remains a long-term absentee. Donis will be looking to his key players to fill the attacking positions, despite the short turnaround.
Possible line-up: Dioudis, Coulibaly, Kolovetsios, Mavromatis, Insua, Kourbelis, C Donis, Chatzigiovannis, Bouzoukis, Kampetsis, Macheda.
TEAM NEWS: AEK
Ouzounidis will predictably field a stronger side than the one that easily accounted for Apollon Larissa in the Greek Cup. However, he may also have one eye on the encounter with Bayern Munich. Lucas Boye and Mantalos are tipped to start together for the first time, while the only real position up for grabs is who partners Dmytro Chygrynskiy in the heart if defence. Tasos Bakasetas will miss the game due to an injury.
Possible Line-up: Barkas, Bakakis, Chyrgrynskiy, Lambropoulos, Hult, Galanopoulos, Simoes, Mantalos, Livaja, Ponce, Boye.
REFEREE: Oliver Drachta (AUT)
The experienced Austrian Oliver Drachta will be the man tasked with holding the whistle in this Athenian derby. The 41 year old has been a FIFA-listed official since 2010. Ironically, the Austrian has refereed a Panathinaikos game in the past - the UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Brondby. He has also refereed a Europa League encounter between Asteras Tripolis and APOEL, so he has somewhat of a history with Greek clubs.
Referee: Oliver Drachta (AUT)
Assistant Referees: Stefan Kuhr (AUT), Andreas Rothman (AUT)
