Round 26 Preview – Battle for 6th
Round 26 Preview – Battle for 6th
By Greg Gavalas
Whilst some of the table and teams are well aware of what lies ahead, the focus for this round is about who will keep, lose or steal 6th place in the standings which means that club will get the final ticket to the top 6 play offs, it will be a big achievement as, with Panathinaikos banned from European Competitions for one more season, this club would virtually secure that ticket to Europe.
The four clubs battling for this spot – OFI (theirs to lose), Asteras (most in form of the group), Atromitos and Xanthi.
All the games will be played on Sunday night in Greece with a 7pm kick off scheduled all around the motherland.
SUNDAY
Larisa vs Asteras Tripolis
After showing some good form in 2019, Larisa’s 2020 was a train wreck with just 5 points in 9 matches and only 4 goals scored, the team performed exceptionally poor, only Amr Warda and Ergys Kace looked dangerous in play. The acquisition of Greek journeyman Thanasis Papazoglou reaped no rewards as expected and high match day prices saw little crowds at the AEL Arena.
Asteras on the other hand were really the only Greek club outside the top 5 that showed considerable improvement and they climbed from 12th to 7th which sums that up, in fact some unlucky results earlier in the season would prove telling now as Asteras could have easily been in OFI’s spot but that’s football.
Prediction – Asteras win and hope for Lamia to do them a favour in Crete
Xanthi vs PAOK
With PAOKXanthiGate on at the moment this will be a controversial game no matter what.
From a league perspective both teams have much to play for, however both teams will need to pick up their performances as neither has been in good form the last month and beyond.
Xanthi are huge outsiders to make the top 6 but if they could sneak a win and the likes of OFI, Atromitos and Asteras do not register a result, they would make 6th place.
PAOK on the other hand need to win if they are to mount a challenge on Olympiakos for the Championship and will be looking to improve their form with the playoffs around the corner. Any loss of points here and PAOK could be looking over their shoulder at AEK in 3rd place.
Prediction – PAOK win
Aris vs Atromitos
These two teams played this fixture not long ago in the cup and it resulted in a frustrating 0-0 draw, frustrating for the home team who missed many chances.
The match still holds mathematical relevance for Aris too, they need just a draw to ensure they stay 5th because if OFI win and Aris lose, Aris would drop to 6th.
At the same time Aris will play a critical Cup match with AEK midweek and Coach Michael Oenning is rumoured to rest four key players on the bench in Daniel Larsson, Bruno Gama, Matilla and left back Mihaly Korhurt. Gama and Matilla will be notable absentees from the 11 if this is true.
Atromitos on the other hand will have it all to play for, like Xanthi they need OFI and Asteras to lose (or Asteras draw) however the problem for the Peristeri team is they simply don’t score goals easily, I have made mention in my previous previews about their scoring problems in 2020, they must have read them and they did get their first goal and win since January 11 last week against Xanthi.
In saying that, that’s a confidence booster and on paper Atromitos are not a bad squad, with Aris having one eye on the Cup, they may be able to come away with something as they will look to counter attack Aris.
Prediction – Aris win in a very entertaining match, I expect a late goal (either way) as Atromitos push
Olympiakos vs Panetolikos
What a week it’s been for Olympiakos after their extraordinarily eliminated Arsenal from the UEFA Europa League but they will need to go back to business right away as they face Panetolikos in search for a win to maintain their lead over PAOK to five points.
Whilst the match points to a comfortable home win at the Kareskaki Stadium it may not be as easy as seems, Olympiakos has had a huge schedule the last month and after this match its two matches with PAOK for the Greek Cup semi-finals and two matches with England’s Wolverhampton Wanderers for the Europa League Round of 16.
I expect Petro Martins to rest players for this match, at the same time, Panetolikos, after Asteras is the only other team outside the top 5 who improved in 2020. The other big question is, if Kostas Fortounis will play after his bust up with Martins following the PAOK match.
Prediction – Olympiakos win
OFI vs Lamia
Many eyes will be on this match at the Thodoros Vardinoyianis in Crete as this match holds the key to the top 6 battle and I think it’s a game that can go either way now.
OFI’s bright first half of the season was anything but in the second half. After holding a command in the top 6 for most of the season OFI are now fighting to stay there, heavy losses to AEK and PAOK in recent weeks show how far they have fallen, matches against the teams outside the top 5 have been wrestling matches for results even in Crete.
Lamia come with some form, new signing Hristos Aravidis scored twice last week against Aris, his two goals were the amount of goals Lamia has scored since early/mid-January.
Lamia can be unpredictable but if their passes can stick they will give OFI a hard time, OFI needs to put everything in this match and go back to what worked for them, Crete is really warming up for this match and a full house is expected.
Good news for OFI, for the first time in months, their trio of Kosmas Tsilianidis, Lisandro Semedo and Figueiredo will be fit and ready to play as will English man, Adil Nabi.
Prediction – OFI win by the skin of their teeth
Panathinaikos vs Volos FC
The match up in Athens between PAO and Volos holds little meaning from a standings perspective however both teams will want to head into their respective playoffs in good form and a decent showing.
Ilias Chatzitheodorithis has some injury woes at the start of the week but looks to be in Georgios Donis plans now, whilst fans wait to see if young prospect Giorgos Vagiannidis will get game time and in any chance Chatzitheodorithis is not fit to play, 19 year old Vasilios Zagaritis will take his place.
Prediction – Panathainaikos with a comfortable win
Panionios vs AEK
With Panionios’s future looking at relegation and not fans at the stadium this is one of the quieter fixtures literally.
For AEK this is a good game given they face Aris in the Greek Cup Semi Finals midweek at the OAKA but there are some injury and card suspensions for the visitors.
Massimo Carrera does have a headache in defence with all central defenders suffering from injuries and suspensions, Ognjen Vranjes is suspended, Marios Oikonomou and Dmytro Chygrynskiy are both injured and only on Friday, Helder Lopez also pulled up sore with a left leg strain.
This means AEK fans could have a first look at 17 year old Slovenian Ziga Laci who AEK bought in the summer and he would play alongside Eftsratios Svarnas.
With Marko Livaja suspended also, its expected Sergios Araujo will start in Smirni as well as Daniele Verde and Christos Albanis
Prediction – AEKs undefeated run reaches a dozen
Hellas Football
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