SLGR Matchday 8 Preview: Derby day in Piraeus
AGONAsport’s George Tsitsonis previews matchday 8 of the 2019/20 Greek SuperLeague.
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The big derby between Olympiacos and AEK takes center stage on Matchday 8 of the 2019/20 Greek Super League. PAOK will look to take advantage of a potential Olympiacos slip-up, though they themselves have a tricky away match at Volos. Another interesting encounter takes place in Crete as OFI and Xanthi collide in a battle of the season’s early surprise teams
Below is a day-by-day breakdown of this weekend’s matches.
Saturday
OFI - Xanthi
Volos - PAOK
Saturday features only two matches, but they promise to be high-quality affairs. The day kicks off in Heraklion as OFI and Xanthi face off. This should be an entertaining game as both sides have come out of the gates quickly this season. Xanthi are coming off a narrow home defeat to Aris while OFI impressed last weekend despite losing to Olympiacos 2-1.
PAOK will travel to Volos knowing a victory could put them top of the table for at least 24 hours. It won’t be easy against Volos however. The home side showed as much last weekend against AEK when they fought hard with ten men only to lose 3-2. Juan Ferrando’s side have not shown any fear since being promoted and PAOK would do well to give them the consideration they deserve, especially at the Panthessaliko Stadium.
Sunday
Panathinaikos - Larisa
Atromitos - Panionios
Aris - Panetolikos
Olympiacos - AEK
The AGONAsport Match of the Week is Sunday’s derby between Olympiacos and AEK. The atmosphere at the Karaiskakis Stadium will undoubtedly be intense as hosts Olympiacos attempt to continue to be the league’s pacesetters. A 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions’ League may have been disappointing, but the overall display from Pedro Martins’ team was a positive one and there will be a belief of defeating AEK on home turf.
AEK’s return to form under Nikos Kostenoglou has supporters believing that all may not be lost this season. Currently, AEK are five points off the pace, however a win in Piraeus would move them to within two or three points (depending on PAOK’s result) of first in the table. After two draws against PAOK and Larisa, the Kitrinomavri rode a late Petros Mantalos brace last week to overcome a feisty Volos side.
Besides that derby, three other matches are on tap for Sunday. The action begins at the Olympic Stadium when Panathinaikos play host to Larisa. Close to crisis mode yet again, Panathinaikos pulled off a big win last week away to Atromitos. Should Giorgos Donis’ team be able to repeat the trick this weekend against Larisa then suddenly things might be looking up for the Prasini. Larisa are up to sixth in the table, but continue to search for consistency. The good news is that the away form of the Vissini has been much improved this season.
Yiannis Anastasiou needs a victory to take the pressure off his back when Atromitos welcome Panionios. After high finishes from the Peristeri club over the last few seasons under former manager Damir Canadi, Atromitos are struggling in 10th with Anastasiou at the helm. Nothing less than a victory will suffice against last-placed Panionios. The Nea Smyrni side will make the short trip on Sunday in hopes of picking up some points. Last weekend’s 1-0 home loss to Asteras Tripolis was a back-breaking result for a team on -2 points (four points gained this far, but began season with a six-point deduction.
An away win at Xanthi appears to have placed Aris back on track to climb up the table. This weekend they take on lowly Panetolikos and will be the big favorites to grab the three points. The match at Xanthi was the first on the bench for new manager Michael Oenning and the German manager will want to make it two for two this weekend. Panetolikos sit in 13th at the moment, but at least showed signs of life in last week’s 2-2 draw with Larisa.
Monday
Asteras Tripolis - Lamia
Monday night football returns with one fixture this week. Asteras Tripolis host Lamia in a match-up of two team near the bottom of the standings. Asteras picked up a vital win last time out against Panionios away from home and that should prove as a real momentum builder. Lamia go into Monday’s match with a new manager. Sotiris Antoniou was given the sack after a 3-0 defeat to PAOK and his position has now been given to journeyman coach Akis Mantzios.
