Greek Super League preparing for big kick-off
As football fans suffer a summer drought of action, the fixture list looking painfully bare, followers of the beautiful game must find other ways to occupy themselves. There are other sports, of course, such as Grand Slam tennis and golf majors, but they do little to take the edge off.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage from AGONASport.com!
There’s also the pre-season news that seems to focus on transfer gossip and speculation, but the stories published in papers and websites are often little more than gossip and hearsay, churned out by sports journalists in a weak attempt to stay relevant. All that can be done is to remain patient and wait on the big kick-off and return of world football’s best divisions.
Beat the crowds
There is more to keep football bettors occupied, however, with major bookmakers serving up early markets on the most talked about competitions and divisions. Karamba, for example, offers a great chance to get in early to beat the crowd and secure a better price about your predictions for the campaign ahead. The latest Karamba review on FBS makes for very interesting reading indeed covering among other things major bookie's markets and promotions for early bettors. Keep an eye on transfers, pay close attention to pre-season friendly results and take note of injury news – it could pay off in the long run.
Another distraction for backers at this time of year is creating outright betting accumulators, adding their picks to win the various leagues across Europe and clubbing them together in a nice priced multiple. That will give you a broad interest over the months to come, checking results and updated tables across the board.
Super League always popular
One tournament that always features highly on punters’ list of priorities is the ultra-competitive Greek Super League. PAOK Thessaloniki won the title last season thanks to a haul of 80 points, achieved thanks to 26 wins and four draws against no defeats. They were one of the only sides to finish unbeaten in a major competition, making them deserving of their prize. They won the trophy thanks to a five-point cushion over nearest rivals Olympiacos who posted 24 wins, three draws, and three defeats, AEK Athens ended back in the bronze medal position with an 18-6-6 record.
At the other end of the ladder, we lost Apollon Smyrnis to relegation after a return of just 10 points left them bottom of the pecking order, well off the pace. They were joined in the worst three by Levadiakos and PAS Giannina who paid the price for winning just five and six times all season, respectively.
PAOK after more of the same
What does this year hold? Will PAOK embark on another incredible unbeaten run and establish themselves as the invincibles of the Greek top tier, or will the likes of Olympiacos and AEK Athens spend the cash needed to strengthen and fight back?
The betting always gives a clear indication of what we can expect and it’s really interesting to look back at last year’s odds if you want to compare how the bookies expected teams to fare and how things actually worked out for the 16 clubs involved.
Seek out the surprise package
You’ll notice the money men weren’t too far away with many of their picks but, as ever, there were also a few surprises and it’s those upsets where dedicated punters will make their money. Pick a side who appear to have been overpriced, written off just a little too easily by traders, and you could have an angle into making a nice profit.
No prizes for guessing what the big teams are planning next term and it promises to be another rollercoaster ride. The fixture list gets started on what will be the 84th Greek Super League season on 24 August with the first seven games all played to a conclusion over the course of that weekend.
Atromitos Athens will be better
One outfit who appear to fit the bill as a plucky outsider and are capable of performing better than their antepost price suggests is Atromitos Athens, who battled their way to a top-four finish, a notion that would’ve been unexpected this time last year. They will be involved in European football this term and that will provide a cash injection to their budget.
The team performed above expectations to end in fourth place, but they could have improved on that, had it not been for two defeats in their final five matches. Nine points collected from a possible 15 saw them stutter when it mattered most, and they ended five off city rivals AEK Athens in third. With the benefit of experience, a stronger effort is expected this time.
