SLGR Matchday 11 Preview: Kitrinomavri duo face-off in Athens
AGONAsport’s George Tsitsonis previews matchday 11 of the 2019/20 Greek SuperLeague.
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The derby of the Kitrinomavri highlights Matchday 11 action of the 2019/20 Greek Super League 1. AEK will host Aris in the weekend’s big fixture on Sunday evening. Elsewhere, league leaders Olympiacos open up the round with an away test at Panionios while defending champions PAOK await the arrival of Larisa in Thessaloniki. With the international breaks now completed for the year, the next few months will be pivotal to the make-up of the league table.
Here is a daily breakdown of the weekend fixtures:
Saturday
Panionios - Olympiacos
Lamia - Xanthi
It’s first versus worst to kick off the weekend as Olympiacos are away to Panionios. The Erythrolefki will make the small hop over to Nea Smyrni hoping to keep their lead atop the Super League 1 standings. While Pedro Martins’ side might have one eye on this week’s Champions’ League tie against Tottenham, Olympiacos should be wary of overlooking Panionios. They may be bottom of the table with a paltry two points, but Niki Papavasiliou’s men have erased a six-point deduction to start the season and are aiming to climb further up the table. Panionios showed their potential with a 2-1 away win at Xanthi a fortnight back and always seem to make life difficult for Olympiacos when they come to town.
Saturday’s other match features Lamia hosting Xanthi. After a poor start to the season, Lamia have rebounded superbly having recorded big wins in their last two matches against Volos and Larisa. Akis Mantzios’ men will feel they can go for a third win on the trot against a Xanthi team that appears to be losing some confidence. Kiko Ramirez’s team came flying out of the gates, but lately are beginning to falter having gone winless in their last four. A win at Lamia looks vital, especially with three difficult matches on the horizon (Atromitos at home, PAOK away, AEK at home).
Sunday
Atromitos - OFI
Asteras Tripolis - Volos
PAOK - Larisa
AEK - Aris
Panetolikos - Panathinaikos
Five matches comprise Sunday’s schedule with Atromitos welcoming OFI to start the day’s proceedings. Giorgos Korakakis takes over for Atromitos in the wake of the club sacking Giannis Anastasiou over the international break. Korakakis won’t have an easy debut against an OFI side who have impressed in the first few months of the season. This encounter should be particularly competitive featuring two clubs who will certainly have their eyes on a top six place this season.
PAOK will fancy themselves to keep the pressure on Olympiacos when they host Larisa on Sunday. Abel Ferreira’s team will want to take care of business and while they are undefeated at home this season, they have dropped points twice in five matches at Toumba Stadium. Larisa are as unpredictable a team as there is in Greece. In recent weeks they have dropped points at Panetolikos, been thumped 3-0 at home to Lamia while also drawing away to Panathinaikos and coming back from two goals down to defeat OFI at home.
The AGONAsport Match of the Week will feature AEK and Aris clashing on Sunday evening at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Both clubs enter the match with something to prove. Besides sharing colors, the two teams have also endured subpar starts to their respective campaigns. Under Nikos Kostenoglou, AEK appeared to be regaining their form, however derby defeats to Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in the last month have derailed the feel-good factor present after Kostenoglou took over. While they remain in third, the Enosi are only a point above OFI and Crete and now nine points behind in the title race.
Aris are worse off, currently occupying seventh in the table on 15 points. If they are to rise up the standings in the next few months then the Thessaloniki club have to be better away from home where they have won only once in four attempts. The good news is that the appointment of German coach Michael Oenning seems to have settled the club and they are undefeated in their last four game.
Elsewhere, Panathinaikos went into the international break with some real momentum and will seek to keep that going away to Panetolikos while Asteras Tripolis and Volos meet up in a seemingly evenly-matched affair.
Giorgos Donis’ Panathinaikos want to make up for a terrible start to the season and looked good in a comeback derby win over AEK two weeks ago. Panetolikos are the only team in the division without a victory and have racked up a mere two points from their first ten matches.
Volos began the season brightly, but have struggled in recent weeks. They face an Asteras Tripolis outfit who are having trouble finding consistency this season.
