Positive performance and result required against familiar foes
 

UEFA EURO 2020 QUALIFIERS - ROUND 8

AGONAsport previews the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier between Greece and Bosnia at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

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This is a match-up which always promises fireworks. Unfortunately, the result of this game is highly unlikely to dramatically affect Greece’s Group J fate, but it does represent a fantastic opportunity to finally get the fans believing again. 

Greece have endured yet another miserable qualifying campaign for a major competition. So far, the Ethniki Omada only have five points to show for their efforts in Group J, most recently conceding a battling 2-0 defeat to Italy in Rome. Greece haven’t won in the qualification process since defeating Liechtenstein 2-0 on the road in the first game.

The situation is very different for Bosnia. On Saturday, the Bosnians got themselves back into contention for a place at Euro 2020, defeating qualification rivals Finland 4-1 at home with a clinical performance. Bosnia and Herzegovina currently trail the second-placed Finns by two points with three matches remaining.

Here is the current state of play in Group J:

Standings: Italy (21), Finland (12), Armenia (10), Bosnia and Herzegovina (10), Greece (5), Liechtenstein (2)

Matchday 8: Tuesday – Finland v Armenia, Liechtenstein v Italy, Greece v Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Italy: qualified

• Finland: cannot qualify or be eliminated on Matchday 8; guaranteed play-off place if required as UEFA Nations League Group C2 winner

• Armenia: cannot qualify or be eliminated on Matchday 8

• Bosnia and Herzegovina: cannot qualify or be eliminated on Matchday 8; guaranteed play-off place if required as UEFA Nations League Group B3 winner

• Greece: will be out of contention in the group if they lose to Bosnia and Herzegovina, or if Finland beat Armenia

• Liechtenstein: can no longer qualify

Greece and Bosnia are certainly no strangers. Regularly playing against each other, the two nations know their respective styles of play extremely well, and games between the countries are always hotly-contested duels with plenty of passion on show. Their first meeting in Group J was another memorable affair.

The Greeks contrived to go 2-0 down within the first 15 minutes as Edin Visca and Miralem Pjanic scored, but instead of waving the white flag, they came roaring back to snatch a deserved 2-2 draw with Kostas Fortounis converting a penalty and Dimitris Kolovos planting a firm header into the net:

All of the last three Greece - Bosnia matches have ended in draws. Greece have won four out of 10 games against the Bosnians, only losing once.

TEAM NEWS: GREECE

In his press-conference, head coach John van ‘t Schip hinted that changes will be made to the line-up in comparison to the 2-0 defeat to Italy at the weekend. According to reports, Sokratis Dioudis is set to replace Alexandros Paschalakis in goal, while Vasilis Lampropoulos starts in defence. Either Efthymis Koulouris or Anastasios Donis will lead the attacking line.

Van ‘t Schip decided to use these two Euro 2020 qualifiers as a chance to see what more of the fringe players are capable of.

Possible line-up: Dioudis, Stafylidis, Lampropoulos, Siovas, Bakakis, Bouchalakis, Zeca, Limnios, Bakasetas, Masouras, Donis.

TEAM NEWS: BOSNIA

When playing Finland, gifted Basaksehir attacking midfielder Edin Visca was forced off in the early stages with an injury, and he is facing a race against time to be in shape for this match in Athens. Veteran striker Edin Dzeko misses out after suffering a fractured cheekbone with AS Roma in Serie A, and experienced Dynamo Moscow defender Toni Sunjic is also ruled out. A decision concerning the participation of Zoran Kvrzic will be taken at the last minute.

Possible line-up: Sehic, Kolasinac, Bicakcic, Kovacevic, Kvrzic, Cimirot, Pjanic, Saric, Gojak, I. Hajrovic, Ar. Hodzic.

REFEREE: FELIX ZWAYER (GER)

Zwayer, who refereed the PAOK - AEK (1-0) Greek Cup final earlier this year, returns to the OAKA to take charge of this encounter.

In the current season, the 38-year-old German was the referee for APOEL’s 2-0 UEFA Champions League playoff defeat to Ajax, and he was also the man in the middle for the Salzburg - Genk (6-2) group stage game.

Assistant referees: Thorsten Schiffner (GER), Marco Achmuller (GER)

Fourth official: Christian Dingert (GER)

by Shaun Nicolaides

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