Crucial Three Week Period To Play A Huge Bearing On Fifth Spot

Exactly two thirds of the Greek Super League season have elapsed and the race for fifth spot is now genuinely heating up. Newly promoted Aris currently occupy fifth on the ladder after a great run of form which has seen the Thessaloniki outfit win 3 games in a row, also keeping three clean sheets in the process. Out of the contenders for fifth spot, they are undoubtedly the in-form team - their demolition of Asteras Tripolis only reinforced this.

Panathinaikos is currently in sixth place on 28 points (4 behind Aris who are on 32). The Greens have not been the same team since the new year and seem to be a shadow of themselves heading into the run home as a lack of depth and horrible luck with injuries to key players have not helped matters. The Trifylli has only won once since the turn of the year, but they can take comfort in the fact they have won more points on the pitch than Aris (if not for the -6 points deduction they would sit on 34 points).

Panaitolikos and Xanthi occupy seventh and eighth spots respectively and both are still outside chances of claiming fifth spot. Both sides are well-drilled and notoriously tricky to break down but would surely have to throw more caution to the wind and look to score more freely to overturn a 5 and 6 point gap in the final 10 matches.

Aris are in the box seat to claim fifth and this would be a phenomenal achievement, given the club is still in its first year back in the top flight and sacked their coach earlier this season. Likewise, a fifth placed finish for Panathinaikos would be incredible, given the club was one of the favourites for relegation, started the season on -6 and was heavily restricted in the transfer market. Several youngsters have made a name for themselves under the guidance of Giorgos Donis.

Coincidentally, both Aris and Panathianikos face the top 3 teams in a three week period which is set to define the race for that vital fifth spot. Aris start this nightmare run of fixtures on the 25th of February when they travel across town to face champions-elect PAOK. A week later they host AEK and then travel south to Piraeus to play Olympiakos. As luck would have it, Panathinaikos also faces the same teams in the exact same order over a three week period starting a week later. They host PAOK on the 4th of March and then play AEK, before hosting Olympiakos. Home derbies are vital in Greek football and Panathinaikos will host 2 out of the 3 derbies, compared to Aris only hosting 1. Panathinaikos will in fact play all 3 matches at OAKA (as the second game with AEK is an away fixture but still played at OAKA).

Again, it will be advantage Panathinaikos as the two sides will meet in Athens on the 7th of April. This fixture comes after the horror three week run for the duo. If the teams are within close proximity on the ladder, it will make for a great spectacle and a tantalising match looms as both love to play free flowing football. Their last meeting in Thessaloniki in December made for intriguing viewing. It ended in a 1-1 draw but there were plenty of talking points and the bad blood was evident. Aris were awarded a controversial penalty (it was clearly not a penalty) but missed, only to be awarded another penalty moments later which Hamza Younes dispatched. Aris dominated before Federico Macheda's late red card for a poor challenge on Manolis Siopis but Tasos Chatzigiovannis broke Aris' hearts with a 93rd minute goal, also from the penalty spot.

As we approach the final third of fixtures, it is important to remember just how significant a top 5 finish is. Given that the winner of the Greek Cup is incredibly likely to come from one of the top four teams, fifth place obtains a European spot by qualifying for the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa League.

Fifth would be a monumental achievement in the grand scheme of things for Panathinaikos as it would erase the European ban imposed by UEFA at the first time of asking, meaning that the club is eligible to qualify for Europe in next season's Championship. This in turn would assist in keeping players happy and steering the club in the right direction as it craves European success but has not won a match in Europe since the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League Group Stage.

Meanwhile for Aris it is even worse, as they have not even participated in any European football since the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League, where they made the last 32 and lost to Manchester City (they famously took 8000 fans to the Etihad Stadium). Earning fifth would cap off a memorable first season back with the big boys and illustrate that they are moving in the right direction.

By Nick Tsambouniaris for Hellas Football