Struggling teams in dire need of finding some footing in 2020

Struggling teams in dire need of finding some footing in 2020

By Nick Gargano 

The brand new format of the Super League will see the clubs who finish in spots 7-14 of the table compete in a series of relegation playoff rounds.  As it stands going into 2020, Panathinaikos, Xanthi, Atromitos, Lamia, Volos, Asteras, Panaitolikos and Panionios would all be competing in the relegation playoffs.  And just as there are two runaway clubs at the top of the table (PAOK and Olympiakos), there are already two bottom dwelling clubs in Panaitolikos and Panionios who only have 8 and 6 points, respectively.  It should be noted that Panionios started the season on -6 points due to their failure to secure the proper licensing required to compete in the Super League this year.  
The clubs in the middle of the table don’t have much room for error either, with only 3 points separating the 5th placed team and the 10th placed team.  AEL, Aris and Panathinaikos occupy the middle of that cluster all even on 22 points.  As it stands right now, Panathinaikos would be the ones going down to the relegation round due to their inferior head to head records with AEL and Aris.  The middle of the table is where all of the action is at right now, and aside from Olympiakos, PAOK and AEK, nobody is safe from finding themselves in 7th place or below and thrown into a relegation scrap at the end of the season.  

After the relegation round is completed, the team occupying last place will drop straight down to the Super League 2, while the second to last team will clash with the team that finished second in the Super League 2 in a promotion playoff.  Assuming every team finishes the relegation round where they are right now and the Super League 2 ladder stays the same, the promotion playoff matchup would have Panaitolikos going up against Apollon Smyrnis.  People can say what they want about the downsizing of the league from 16 teams to 14 teams and the new playoff system, but one of the big successes of this restructuring was the thrilling Cretan derby promotion playoff last year between OFI and Platanias- which ended 3-2 on aggregate with OFI sinking Platanias with a 96th minute game winning goal in the second leg in Heraklion.  Given everything at stake (look no further than the huge difference in revenue made between SL 1 and SL 2 clubs), this year’s edition of the promotion playoff should be drama packed as well.  
Predictions: Panathinaikos will find a way to power through their offensive struggles and play with enough consistency to edge past AEL in the table.  The 7th through 14th spots going into the relegation round will be occupied in this order; AEL, Lamia, Atromitos, Xanthi, Volos, Asteras, Panionios, Panaitolikos. 


My hope is to see Panionios finish second to last after the relegation round and face Apollon Smyrni in an "Ionian derby” edition of the promotion playoff this year.  On one hand, cash-strapped Panionios could face a slippery slope getting relegated.  On the other hand, Apollon should be desperate to get back to the top flight as soon as they can.  Two clubs with plenty of history squaring off in a winner takes all two legged playoff- who doesn’t love the small things that make Greek football so great? 

Hellas Football

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