Play Offs & Play Outs Round 2 Preview
Play Offs & Play Outs Round 2
Preview
By Greg Gavalas
The first round gave us an indication of where teams are
sitting on a form level and what is for sure, is the teams that hit their
strides quicker than others will benefit considerably.
Play Offs
Panathinaikos vs PAOK
The match of the round is no doubt the Saturday night clash
at the OAKA between Panathinaikos and PAOK.
The home team will be looking to take the 3 points from this
match after a good performance against AEK last week only delivered a 1-1 draw,
PAO had the better of the Athenian derby but couldn’t capitalize on their
dominance before AEK got into gear from the 70th minute.
PAOK on the other hand were terrible at home against
Olympiakos and went down 1-0. The lacklustre performance was made even harder
for the “Dikefalo tou Vorra” fans as the team hardly threatened to score and
looked the worst hit team after the break.
Panathinaikos continue to be without Achilleas Poungouras,
Juan Perea and Uffe Bech, however, coach Giorgios Donis is not expected to make
many changes to his eleven from last week.
PAOK will see the return of inform left back, Dimitris
Giannoulis who was severely missed last week, and adding more depth to the
defence, Icelander, Sverrir Ingason also returns to action. There has been injury
concerns for Dimitris Pelkas through the week but at the time of writing he
seems to be ready for the game in Athens.
The pressure is really on at PAOK, Portuguese coach, Abel
Ferreira has received huge criticism with the teams sinking form and compounding
defeats to Olympiakos at Toumba do not help.
PAOK is still in the battle with AEK for the last Champions
League spot and this is just another tough test, weather of not Ferreira makes
changes to his eleven from last week will be a big eye catcher for the fans,
one thing is for sure, Giannoulos will slot back into the left back spot.
Prediction – PAO 2-0
OFI vs AEK
OFI got off to a flying start last week however despite a
good performance in Thessaloniki against Aris, the Cretans came away with 0
points, going down 3-1.
OFI’s from at the Thodoros Vardinoyiannis stadium in Crete
has been good and they will be drawing on their 1-0 win over AEK in December to
come away with the same result.
AEK struggled for 70 minutes against Panathinaikos last
week, Massimo Carrera started with a 4-3-3 and surprisingly played Petros
Mantalos up front in that system, not surprisingly, it wasn’t until Nelson
Oliveira came on and AEK switches to a 4-2-3-1 system that the Enosi got back
into the match.
Englishman, Adil Nabi, injured himself at training so will
not be available for the home team whilst AEK will have an unchanged squad
traveling to Crete.
It’s a big match for AEK, by the time of this game, on
Sunday afternoon, they will know the outcome of the PAO-PAOK game, either way
though, it’s a game they visitors will want to win and if Carrera can get the
formula right from the start, they can do it.
Prediction – If AEK
play with a striker, AEK win 1-0, If AEK play under the 4-3-3, OFI win 1-0
Olympiakos vs Aris
The final match of the playoffs sees Olympiakos host Aris,
the two teams were the only winners in round one and whilst it’s expected the
home team will take the win, Aris will want to try make something at the
Karaiskaki Stadium.
Olympiakos faces no injury concerns although it’s expected
Ruben Semedo will be rested for this match and the twin tower combination of
Ousseynou Ba and Pape Cisse will start the match.
Aris and coach, Michael Oenning are not expected any changes
to their team from last week however the Thessaloniki team will want to see
their midfield gel a lot better and from the word go in this one as there is no
doubt they will face punishment for loose passes and lost possession.
Aris has performed well away from home against the big 4
however has consistently just fallen short of a great result in Attica, with
Olympiakos all but set for the title, if the visitors can combine well anything
is possible but their defence will need to be ready for it too.
Prediction –
Olympiakos 3-1
Play Outs
Volos FC vs Xanthi
Round one of the Play Outs has in fact made the relegation
battle interesting indeed and the faint possibility of a European spot is also
heating up, in the remote chance Aris receives a ban.
The football kicks off in Thessaly where Volos will host
Xanthi, Xanthi’s match was suspended last week due to an increase in Corona
cases in the city so Volos will have the advantage of match fitness and I think
this could be critical.
After their 12 point deduction, Xanthi has been dragged into
the relegation battle and with Panionios winning last week, they are just four
points away from the Panthers so they will want to secure points.
Atromitos vs Lamia
The home team will be keen to get their campaign off and
running after having to sit out last week at Xanthi.
Lamia are coming off a good win at home to Panetolikos which
has put them into the hunt of winning the play outs.
Similar to Xanthi, Atromitos go into the match with the
opposition in slightly better match fitness and if Lamia can come away with a
big away win they will pass Atromitos in the standings.
Asteras Tripolis vs Panionios
The other big winner last week was Asteras Tripolis who came
away from Larisa 2-1 winners, the team from Tripoli didn’t start too well in
the match but as time went on they improved and if you get a chance, check out
the winning goal from Luis Fernandez.
Panionios were also big winners, at home to Volos, the match
was pretty even but it was the Panthers that found the old union bag and
grabbed the critical 3 points which puts them on 14 points and 3 away from
Panetolikos in the search for safety.
Expect an open game, with both teams’ hungry for the 3
points at the opposite end of the scales but I believe Asteras will prevail.
Panetolikos vs Larisa
The last match of the Play Outs is another match that should
be fought out vigorously.
The home team will be desperate for the 3 points in an
effort to build back the gap over Panionios. Panetolikos finished the regular
season well but the break saw them lose some of that form.
Larisa started their game against Tripoli very well at home
last week, deservedly took the lead but fell into their end of season form and
let the game slip away.
AEL will be without veteran defender Vangelis Moras who injured himself last week and that loss in leadership could prove crucial in a team struggling for form.
Hellas Football
Follow @GregGavalas
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