Who blinks first in Piraeus
Who blinks first in Piraeus
GREEK SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 5
In the most highly anticipated battle of the 2018/2019 Super League so far, Olympiacos host PAOK at the Karaiskakis Stadium with sparks expected to fly. AGONAsport previews the duel.
This rivalry is always packed with passion, but given these teams’ superb start to the campaign, Sunday’s clash boasts added spice. Having undergone a huge makeover during the summer, Olympiacos have come flying out of the blocks, winning their opening four Super League matches and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League group stage. While Pedro Martins’ troops require more time to build up effective mutual understanding, the Thrylos have already proven their desire to recover from last season’s debacle, displaying true grit to defeat Asteras Tripolis (2:1) and Panionios (1:0) with two last-minute goals in their two previous domestic championship matches.
PAOK suffered UEFA Champions League heartbreak at the hands of Benfica, but the Dikefalos tou Vorra refused to mope in a corner, beating Asteras Tripolis (1:0), Panionios (1:0), OFI (3:1) and AEK (2:0) to create momentum. The Thessaloniki outfit started the season with a -2 points deficit for an overrunning punishment, but if they manage to claim a victory in Piraeus, PAOK will move into first place of the Super League table.
On matchday four in the Super League, Olympiacos struggled for long periods against a determined Panionios team, but substitute Ahmed Hassan’s dramatic stoppage time header earned all three points for the Erythrolefkoi. For their part, PAOK defeated arch-rivals AEK at the Toumba Stadium, as Serbian hitman Aleksandar Prijovic registered an impressive brace.
In the 2017/2018 season, the Thrylos beat PAOK 1:0 at the Karaiskakis Stadium, with Bjorn Engels grabbing the only goal. Olympiacos were then handed a 3:0 win in Thessaloniki after Oscar Garcia was struck by an object thrown from the stands, an incident which prevented the match from starting.
TEAM NEWS: OLYMPIACOS
Midweek, Pedro Martins picked a reserve squad for the 1:0 Greek Cup win against Levadiakos, but all of the leading figures are back in the team for this derby. Yaya Toure and Dimitris Manos, who scored the winner on Thursday, are in the roster but will take their seat on the bench. Norwegian right-back Omar Elabdellaoui has been cleared to play.
Possible line-up: Gianniotis, Elabdellaoui, Vukovic, Meriah, Tsimikas, Bouchalakis, Camara, Fortounis, Christodoulopoulos, Podence, Guerrero.
TEAM NEWS: PAOK
Creative midfielders Amr Warda and Omar El Kaddouri have been ruled out alongside Ukrainian defender Yevhen Khacheridi. On Wednesday, goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis was suspended for the 1:1 draw against Aris in the Greek Cup, but he will replace Rodrigo Rey in net in Piraeus. Aleksandar Prijovic holds the responsibility of breaching the Olympiacos defence.
Possible line-up: Paschalakis, Leo Matos, Crespo, Varela, Vieirinha, Canas, Mauricio, Limnios, Pelkas, Biseswar, Prijovic.
REFEREE: FEDAYI SAN (SUI)
Originally, fellow Swiss national Sandro Scharer was handed the task of keeping control of proceedings, but he received an injury and Fedayi San will now be the referee.
Born in the Swiss town of Mulligen, San became a full international FIFA referee in 2011, however he rarely works at matches in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League tournament phases. This summer, the 35-year old refereed APOEL’s 1:3 defeat to Suduva in the Champions League first qualifying round, dishing out two yellow cards.
Referee: Fedayi San (SUI)
Assistant referees: Begim Zogaj (SUI), Sladan Josipovic (SUI)
Fourth official: Aristotelis Diamantopoulos (GRE)
WHERE TO WATCH
Watch live on AGONAsport here, available worldwide except in Greece and Cyprus! Find full TV listings for Greece, the USA, Canada and Australia on this link.
by Shaun Nicolaides
Image source: to10.gr
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