SLGR Matchday 6 Playoff / Matchday 5 Playout Preview:  ‘Eternal’ derby; Away tests for Dikefaloi

The 2019/20 Greek Super League 1 postseason heads toward the latter stage with this weekend’s matches. Matchday 6 of the Playoffs and Matchday 5 of the Playouts are lined up with some key encounters.

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There is interest across the board with bragging rights on the line in the derby of the eternal enemies on Sunday between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos as well as the race for second place in the league between AEK and PAOK and of course the battle at the bottom where Xanthi, Panetolikos, and Panionios are fighting against relegation.

Here is a daily breakdown of the weekend matches:

Saturday

Asteras Tripolis - Volos

Lamia - Xanthi

OFI - PAOK

The matchday starts with Saturday’s early kick-off between Asteras Tripoli and Volos. The game in Tripoli will be of little importance to either side in concrete terms though Asteras have the goal of finishing atop the playout table while Volos will be seeking to overturn their recent poor form.

The following two matches on Saturday will feature contests whose results will have real bearing on the league table. In Lamia, the home side may be free of the pressure of relegation, but their opponents are not. Xanthi go to Lamia off of a big 2-1 defeat at Panionios last weekend. That result dragged Xanthi right into the middle of the relegation scrap as they sit just one point of off last place. Victory away to Lamia coupled with Panionios and Panetolikos dropping points this week would give the northern Greece club some much-needed breathing space. 

PAOK’s bid to save their season and claim second place passes through Crete on Saturday evening. Last season’s champions have had a torrid run as of late, having been knocked out of the Greek Cup last week and most recently losing a key midweek match versus AEK. Now even with the Kitrinomavri on 59 points there is little room for error from the Thessaloniki side. Their opponents this weekend, OFI, are winless thus far in the postseason, however there is perhaps some positives to be drawn from a draw last week to Panathinaikos and a narrow defeat away to Olympiacos on Wednesday. 

Sunday

Aris - AEK

Panathinaikos - Olympiacos

Sunday’s line-up features two matches. The first will take place in Thessaloniki at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium when Aris and AEK face off. Aris began the playoffs with a come-from-behind victory against OFI, but since have gone four matches without a victory. They were disappointing in recent defeats to PAOK and Panathinaikos and have been unable to put much distance between themselves and OFI for the final European position (they currently hold a three-point lead over the Crete side). 

AEK meanwhile look to be getting stronger in recent weeks. Wednesday saw Massimo Carrera’s men pick up three massive points away to PAOK with a 2-0 win. That was a crucial six-pointer as now the two teams are level on 59 points going into the final stretch of fixtures.

The AGONAsport Match of the Week is the Greek football clasico, the derby of the eternal enemies on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium in Athens where Panathinaikos host Olympiacos. Panathinaikos have shown a frustrating inconsistency over the course of the playoffs. In the last two weeks they put forth subpar displays against Olympiacos (3-0 defeat) and OFI (0-0 draw in Crete) before bouncing back to beat Aris 2-0 on Wednesday. Olympiacos spent the last few days celebrating their 45th league title and have five matches remaining in which to try to finish the season unbeaten.

Monday

Larisa - Panionios

Atromitos - Panetolikos

Two playout match-ups end the matchday on Monday, involving relegation battlers Panionios and Panetolikos. Panionios, coming off a crucial victory over Xanthi, travel north to Larisa, a club coming off some terrible performances recently. 

Finally, Panetolikos may have picked the wrong time to visit Atromitos with the Peristeri club fresh off a 3-0 beatdown of Larisa last weekend. The bottom club in the division will automatically be relegated while the second-from-last finisher will enter a relegation playoff. 

Currently, Panionios are last with 21 points, but they have clawed back a big deficit thus far. Xanthi and Panetolikos are just above the Nea Smyrni team with both on 22 points.

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