Bitter battle in store in Thessaloniki Derby
SUPERL EAGUE - MATCHDAY 17
AGONAsport previews the Thessaloniki Derby between Aris and PAOK at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in the Super League.
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Aris are dreaming of becoming the first Super League club in 52 matches to defeat PAOK. Unbeaten in the championship since March 2018, reigning Greek champions PAOK currently lead the table with 40 points, two more than second-placed Olympiacos. For their part, Aris are in sixth with 22 points on the board, but they came close to beating PAOK at the Toumba Stadium in the first half of the season.
Until the seventh minute of stoppage time, Aris held a 2-1 advantage, but Josip Misic subsequently thumped in a last-gasp equaliser to salvage a point for PAOK:
PAOK’s away form has been superb so far this season. In eight games, PAOK have tallied an impressive six victories, with their two draws arriving in matches against AEK and Olympiacos. Last season, the Dikefalos tou Vorra did claim all three points at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, defeating Aris 2-1 with two goals from Aleksandar Prijovic.
With their passionate fans behind them, Aris are always a force to be reckoned with at home, and they have registered four victories in eight games at their stadium in the 2019/2020 campaign to date. Aris’ two home losses were suffered against Olympiacos (1-2) and AE Larissa (2-3).
Under the guidance of Michael Oenning, Aris have made an improvement after a shaky start to the season, but they have only won one of their last six Super League matches. On matchday 16, they came close to beating Panathinaikos in Athens, however Giannis Fetfatzidis’ brilliant solo effort was ruled out for offside as the game ended 0-0:
PAOK, on the other hand, have now strung four consecutive victories together after drawing at Olympiacos. In their previous match, PAOK were far too strong for Atromitos at home, cruising to an emphatic 5-1 victory:
TEAM NEWS: ARIS
Fjorin Durmishaj, who has only just signed from Olympiacos, has been included in the squad to face PAOK on Saturday. Durmishaj joined Aris last week after a failed loan spell at Waasland-Beveren in Belgium.
Unfortunately for Oenning, Swedish full-back Daniel Sundgren is still out with an injury, so Lindsay Rose is likely to play on the right side of defence again. Nicolas Diguiny, linked with a possible move to Apollon Limassol, could be left on the bench.
Possible line-up: Cuesta, Korhut, Delizisis, Velez, Rose, Matilla, Sasha, Gama, Larsson, Fetfatzidis, Ideye.
TEAM NEWS: PAOK
On a positive note, Douglas Augusto has been cleared to participate in the match against Aris, but Jose Angel Crespo, Pontus Wernbloom, Leo Jaba and Omar El Kaddouri remain on the sidelines with injuries. Vieirinha is likely to start in a more advanced role again, with Dimitris Giannoulis in great form at left-back.
Possible line-up: Zivkovic, Giannoulis, Varela, Ingason, Matos, Misic, Mauricio, Vieirinha, Limnios, Pelkas, Swiderski.
