Two giants clash in Thessaloniki with differing objectives
 

SUPERL EAGUE - MATCHDAY 9

PAOK face Panathinaikos at Toumba on Sunday evening in the match of the Round in Matchday 9 of the Super League as the hosts look to keep pace at the top of the ladder.

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Reigning champions PAOK host rivals Panathinaikos on Sunday evening at Toumba in the headline fixture of Matchday 9 of the Greek Super League.

Despite a somewhat underwhelming start to the season, primarily in terms of failing to qualify for a European competition, PAOK are sitting relatively pretty in second spot after eight rounds and are still undefeated in the Championship.

On the other hand, Panathinaikos have flattered to deceive so far this season and sit in a disappointing 11th position. The Greens are yet to win a home match, picking up only one point (at home against Eternal Rivals Olympiacos), however, have a 50% win record so far on the road.

Controversy and talking points are always on offer in this fixture, as fan troubles often steal the headlines. There were no major issues last season, however, in years gone by fans of both sides have struggled to contain themselves. There were riots in 2014 at Leoforos between both sets of fans, and late in the 2016-17 season, Vladan Ivic was hit by a can at Leoforos, while Lucas Villafanez was hit by a firecracker at Toumba.

Up until last season, Panathinaikos were the only side in the history of the Greek Super League to go undefeated for an entire season en route to clinching the League title in the 1963-64 campaign. PAOK emulated this feat last season, and one of those wins came late in the season at OAKA.

It has been business as usual for PAOK on the pitch. The Thessaloniki-based club have remained consistent and fielded a largely settled side, barring injuries. This has been a staple of their success in recent seasons. Karol Swiderski has emerged as the focal point up front and is the competition’s leading goal scorer with 6 goals to date. Dimitris Limnios has also taken the league by storm.

Apart from stopping the in-form Polish striker, the Greens will also have to deal with a notoriously hostile Toumba atmosphere. The Trifylli has struggled for consistency so far this season, and as a result, the starting team has differed and the formations have been tinkered in a bid to find success. Tasos Chatzigiovanis looms as the danger man for the Greens as his pace, creativity and understanding with fellow youngster Giannis Bouzoukis has the potential to cause problems for the hosts on the counter as the visitors will not be expected to have much of the ball.

Last season, PAOK defeated Panathinaikos with the same 2-0 scoreline at Toumba and Leoforos, but the visitors still hold the overall head-to-head advantage in this fixture with 87 wins across all competitions, compared to the host’s 55 wins. Meanwhile, there have been 35 draws in all meetings.

PAOK head into this weekend’s fixture on the back of three straight wins (their only two draws have come to rivals Aris and AEK). Last weekend, they beat Volos 0-2 away from home. Meanwhile, Panathinaikos lost 1-2 at home to Larissa, but have enjoyed better results on the road. They also defeated Panachaiki in Patra in the Greek Cup midweek with a 1-3 scoreline.

Team News: PAOK

A settled team has been the cornerstone of PAOK’s success. This will continue On Sunday evening as Zivko Zivkovic is expected to keep his place in goal ahead of Alexandros Paschalakis. Omar El Kaddouri and Leo Jaba have been named in the squad and the duo have fully recovered from their respective injuries. However, PAOK will be without Mauricio, Fernando Varela and long-term absentee Pontus Wernbloom, who is on a special recovery program. This means Sverrir Ingason will keep his place in the heart of defence alongside Jose Angel Crespo.

Possible line-up: Zivkovic, Giannoulis, Crespo, Ingason, Matos, Stoch, Douglas, Misic, Limnios, Biseswar, Swiderski.

Team News: Panathinaikos

For the first time so far this season, Donis has a near full-strength squad to choose from as Uffe Bech is the only absentee. The Danish midfielder picked up his fourth injury since joining in the summer and will miss the trip to Toumba. Achilleas Poungouras and Bart Schenkeveld are expected to remain as the first choice centre backs, but changes in the fullback positions may occur. Donis could opt for experience in what is sure to be a fiery match with Emanuel Insua and Mattias Johansson regaining their places ahead of Greek youngsters Ilias Chatzitheoridis and Kostas Apostolakis. Tasos Chatzigiovanis will start out wide, but the striker spot is up for grabs in a two-way battle between Federico Macheda and Argiris Kampetsis.

Possible line-up: Dioudis, Insua, Poungouras, Schenkeveld, Johansson, Bouzoukis, C.Donis, Kourbelis, Chatzigiovanis, Zahid, Kampetsis.

Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic will be the latest foreigner to take charge of a derby in the Greek Super League. The 39 year old has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2010 and went to UEFA Euro 2012 as an assistant. He has previously officiated PAOK in their UEFA Champions League qualifier (first leg) earlier this season against Ajax which ended in a 2-2 draw at Toumba. On top of this, he officiated a 2016-17 UEFA Europa League group stage match at Toumba between PAOK and Fiorentina which ended goalless. He was also the referee for Olympiacos’ 3-1 win over Burnley in last season’s UEFA Europa League playoffs and in their 2016-17 playoff match against Arouca.

Referee - Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

Assistant Referees - Tomaz Klancnik (Slovenia) and Andraz Kovacic (Slovenia)

Fourth Official - Aristomenis Koutsiavtis

VAR - Thanasis Tzilos (Greece)

by Nick Tsambouniaris

Image Source: to10.gr

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