Panathinaikos, AEK & PAOK Opponents Preview

Panathinaikos, AEK & PAOK Opponents Preview

By Nikolas Fil

**Panathinaikos Opponent Preview**

After Panathinaikos’ impressive 2-0 victory against Villarreal, the Greens travel to Israel to face Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa.

Today, we are going to preview Panathinaikos' clash with Haifa, while also discussing key players from Haifa’s squad, including their strengths and weaknesses. Maccabi Haifa is one of Israel’s top clubs, having won the Israeli Championship 15 times and the Israeli cup 6 times. They have made 9 appearances in Europe, including 3 in the UCL group stages, and they were the first Israeli club to qualify for the competition’s group stage in the 2002/03 season. Currently, they are 6th in Ligat HaAl after 4 games with a record of 2-1-1.

**Manager: Messay Dego**

Messay Dego is an Ethiopian-born Israeli football manager and former player. He was born in Ethiopia to an Ethiopian-Israeli family and moved to Israel with his family in the 1990s. He started his footballing career at Maccabi Tel Aviv, making a name for himself during 2010 to 2012 when he played for Maccabi Herzliya, where he made 53 appearances, scoring 7 goals as a CM. He began his coaching career as an assistant manager at Hapoel Kfar Saba before becoming the manager of Hapoel Petah Tikva and Hapoel Acre. In 2022, he became Maccabi Haifa’s youth coach before taking over as the men’s team coach in July 2023.

**Tactical Approach:**

They are known for their attacking style of football and their intention to entertain their home support. They are also recognized for their intense style of play and tactics, as well as their great attacking players, including Haitian international Frantzdy Pierrot and captain Tjaronn Chery.

**Star Player: Frantzdy Pierrot**

Frantzdy Pierrot is a Haitian international footballer who plays as a striker. Pierrot began his career playing college football for Northeastern University between 2014 and 2015, before transferring to Coastal Carolina University, where he played college football between 2016 and 2018. In 2018, he was selected in the MLS Draft by Colorado Rapids but didn’t sign for the club. In July of the same year, Pierrot signed a 4-year deal with Belgian side Mouscron before moving to Guingamp in 2019. In 2022, Pierrot signed for Maccabi Haifa, where he has made 57 appearances, scoring 19 goals.

**Past Meetings:**

Panathinaikos and Maccabi Haifa have never faced each other, but Panathinaikos has played against other clubs from Israel. Panathinaikos first played against an Israeli opponent in the 2006/07 season, beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-0 in UEFA Cup group G. The last time PAO faced an Israeli opponent was in the 2011/12 UEL qualifiers, losing 3-0 to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first leg but winning the second leg 2-1.

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**AEK UEL Opponents Preview: Ajax Amsterdam**

After their historic upset on Matchday 1, AEK is set to face an in-crisis Ajax at home for Matchday 2 of the Europa League. Today, we will preview AEK’s clash with Ajax while also discussing key players from their squad, including their strengths and weaknesses. 

Historically, Ajax is the biggest club in the Netherlands, having won 4 European Cups, 1 UEFA Cup, 36 Eredivisie titles, and 20 Dutch cups. Last season, however, Ajax finished 3rd in the Eredivisie, qualifying for the UEL but missing out on a UCL spot for the first time in 14 years. In the summer, Ajax sold Mohammed Kudus, Jurrien Timber, Edson Alvarez, and Calvin Bassey for a combined fee of 143.5M euros, replacing them with Josip Sutalo, Gaston Avila, Benjamin Tahirovic, and Borna Sosa. 

They also signed talented winger Carlos Forbs from Man City, former PAOK striker Chuba Akpom, and Georgian international Georges Mikautadze to bolster their attack. Although Ajax is in a period of crisis, their players are good enough to exploit AEK’s defense if they are not careful.

**Manager: Maurice Steijn**

Maurice Steijn is a Dutch football manager and former player. He began his footballing career at ADO Den Haag, making 98 appearances and scoring 6 goals as a midfielder, before moving to NAC Breda. 

He started his coaching career at ADO Den Haag from 2011 to 2014 before moving to VVV-Venlo and the Saudi side Al Wahda in 2019. He joined Ajax this summer after John Heitinga was relieved of his duties as the first-team coach, following Ajax’s lowest league finish in 14 years.

**Tactical Approach:**

Ajax is attempting to play their familiar brand of football. However, this season is different from others, with Ajax, despite having most of the possession in their games and more shots per game than their opponents, sitting 16th in goals scored with 6, with only FC Utrecht with 4 and RKC Waalwijk with 5 behind them. In their most recent game against Feyenoord, despite having 62% of the possession, Ajax created only 0.3 xG and conceded 14 shots, 7 of which were on target. In the games against Feyenoord and Marseille, they showed their defensive instability, conceding 7 goals from 4.87 xG combined. 

In their last game before the trip to Agia Sofia, Ajax beat RKC Waalwijk 3-2, once again highlighting their defensive problems.

**Star Player: Steven Bergwijn**

Ajax has many quality players like Carlos Forbs, Chuba Akpom, Georges Mikautadze, and Josip Sutalo. However, today we will focus on Ajax’s captain, Steven Bergwijn. Steven Bergwijn is a Dutch international footballer who plays as a winger and striker for Ajax. 

Bergwijn started his career at PSV Eindhoven’s academy before moving to their first team, making 112 appearances and scoring 29 goals, earning a move to Tottenham Hotspur for 26M euros in January 2020. At Tottenham, Bergwijn scored 7 goals in 60 appearances, mostly coming off the bench, including 2 stunning goals against Leicester City in the 95th and 97th minute to turn around the game for Spurs, marking the latest comeback in PL history. 

However, things didn’t work out well for Steven after that. In the summer of 2022, he moved to Ajax for a 31M euros fee. So far, he has scored 12 goals in 32 appearances for the Dutch giants.

**Past Meetings:**

AEK and Ajax have faced each other 4 times, with AEK losing all 4 games and scoring only once. They first met during the 1994/95 UCL group stages, with Ajax beating AEK 2-0 in the Netherlands and 1-2 in Athens. 

The last time they faced off was in the 2018/19 season, where Ajax beat AEK 3-0 with an incredible second-half performance, with Nico Tagliafico scoring twice. Ajax also came out victorious in Athens, beating AEK 2-0 with Dusan Tadic scoring twice and Marko Livaja being sent off.

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**PAOK UECL Opponents Preview: Eintracht Frankfurt**

After PAOK’s away win in Helsinki, they are set to face probably the strongest team in the group, Eintracht Frankfurt, at home. Today, we will preview PAOK’s clash with the Eagles while also discussing key players from Eintracht’s squad, including their strengths and weaknesses. Eintracht finished 7th last season and reached the DFB Pokal final, where they lost 2-0 to RB Leipzig. They sold Randal Kolo Muani to PSG for 95M euros, talented Danish midfielder Jesper Lindstrom to Napoli for 5M euros, and Swiss international Djibril Sow to Sevilla for 10M euros. Additionally, they did not renew Evan Ndicka’s contract. They replaced these players with winger Ansgar Knauff from Dortmund for 5.1M euros, forward Omar Marmoush on a free transfer from Wolfsburg, Tunisian international midfielder Ellyes Skhiri on a free transfer from Koln, and German international CB Robin Koch on loan from Leeds United. Currently, they are sitting in 9th place in the Bundesliga.

**Manager: Dino Toppmoller**

Dino Nicolas Toppmoller is a German football manager and former player. His best footballing years were during 2003 to 2005 at Erzgebirge Aue, where he scored 22 goals in 43 appearances as a CAM. He also had a brief spell at Manchester City and Eintracht Frankfurt. As a manager, he started his career as an assistant at FSV Salmrohr. From 2016 to 2019, he was with F91 Dudelange, helping them qualify for the Europa League group stages for the first time in the club's history in the 2018-19 season. From 2020 to 2023, he served as Nagelsmann’s assistant at RB Leipzig and Bayern, winning 1 Bundesliga title and 2 Supercup titles. He became Eintracht’s coach in the summer of 2023, following the conclusion of Oliver Glasner’s contract.

**Tactical Approach**

Eintracht is a team that prefers fast, direct, and progressive vertical play. When they get into good starting positions, they often utilize the wings, using their wingbacks and the unpredictable movements of the offensive front three.

**Star Player: Kevin Trapp**

Kevin Trapp, a 33-year-old German international, plays as a goalkeeper. He began his career at FC Kaiserslautern, making 32 appearances before moving to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2012. Later, in 2015, he moved to French giants PSG, where he made over 60 appearances and won 3 Ligue 1 titles. He returned to Eintracht in 2018 on loan before making a permanent move in 2019. So far, he has made 120 appearances, playing in 1 DFB Pokal final last season and, of course, winning the Europa League in 2022 as Eintracht’s hero and captain.

**Past Meetings**

Eintracht and PAOK faced each other in the 1981/82 Cup Winners Cup Round of 16. PAOK lost 2-0 in the first leg in Frankfurt. Despite winning 2-0 in Thessaloniki a week later, Eintracht beat them 5-4 on penalties to qualify for the Quarter-finals.

Hellas Football 

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