Play Offs & Play Outs Round 4 Preview
Play Offs & Play Outs Round 4 Preview
By Greg Gavalas
It should be noted, for this round, foreign referees will be used in the Aris-PAOK match along with the AEK-Olympiakos match.
Play Offs
OFI vs Panathinaikos
The opening match of the Play Offs is by far and away the match with the least heat on it as OFI and PAO do battle in Crete.
Both teams are coming off unconvincing performances with the Cretans in dire form, in their away match with PAOK last week, OFI still struggled to pressure an out of sorts home team but was rather unlucky to concede an penalty in the 90th minute with the score at 1-1, and they went on to lose 3-1.
Panathinaikos had a poor showing also and went down to eternal rivals Olympiakos 3-0. The first time in a long time they were beaten so comprehensively by the reds.
OFI will surely want to see some positives from this game, Coach Giorgios Simos has said they are using the Play Offs to test and prepare for Europe however, after 3 straight defeats and with the team not playing well, they will need to draw some confidence.
PAO on the other hand have very little to play for, a coach that is on his way out and no Europe next year, players will be playing to impress the onlookers.
Prediction – PAO 2-0
Aris vs PAOK
Aris played well against AEK however went out in extra time, last week they almost pulled off an impressive away win in Athens, again, against AEK, but, like they did in the Cup they couldn’t hold out the AEK attack.
Aris’ main issue will be energy, with Coach, Michael Oenning relying on a short string of players, I believe their line-up, similar to the two games with AEK will be running on very tired legs.
The mood at PAOK is not great with more pressure mounting on Coach Abel Ferreira however he has a huge opportunity to make a positive impact this weekend, with an understrength AEK taking on Olympiakos this weekend, if PAOK can get a derby win, they will go three points clear if AEK losses.
PAOK will remain without Vieirinha, Dimitris Pelkas and Jose Crespo due to injury whilst Omar El Kaddouri will be suspended for this match.
Prediction – Draw 1-1
AEK vs Olympiakos
The match at OAKA could see Olympiakos officially crowned the 2019/20 Champions of Greece, that is if they can beat what will be an under strength AEK team who will be without three key players, due to red cards in the Semi Final match with Aris.
AEK captain, Petros Mantalos, striker, Nelson Oliveira and midfield work horse, Andre Simoes will all be unavailable for Massimo Carrera, however there is depth at AEK and I believe it’s a good opportunity to see, Marko Livaja move back in a central role behind Sergio Araujo, with Daniel Verde and Christos Albanis on the wings.
AEK also faces a concern in defence with Michalis Bakakis and Helder Lopez picking up knocks in the semi-final.
Olympiakos continues to be in a good state on the other hand, the only great loss is that French star, Mathieu Valbuena, is still doubtful for this match but he could still feature on the bench.
If AEK are to hold out the Piraeus club, they will need to be up for it in defence and containing the strike force of not only, Yousef El-Arabi, but the midfield of Mohammed Camara and Guilherme who have both been in scintillating form.
Prediction – Olympiakos 1-0
Play Outs
Panionios vs Xanthi
The match in Nea Smirni between Panionios and Xanthi is perhaps the biggest match between the two teams ever and it’s definitely a shame we can’t see a rare decent crowd at the stadium for this.
So far, Panionios has been the best performing team in the Play Outs as they make a serious bid to avoid relegation, with 25 year old striker, Sotiris Tsiloulis the unsung hero with great finishing to score the winners.
Xanthi was on a run of draws and losses however their win over Atromitos, their first win since January, was critical as they are now 4 points away from Panionios.
Xanthi played one of their better games so that gives them some confidence, what they won’t be happy with is having to travel to Athens to play this game, just three days later.
Prediction – Panionios 1-0
Panetolikos vs Asteras Tripolis
One team that will be watching the Panionios – Xanthi game closely is Panetolikos, they are in the middle of both teams, 3 points above Panionios and only one point behind Xanthi.
They will be hoping for a draw in that game and a home win the next day against Asteras Tripolis, who, along with other Play Out clubs in safety, haven’t been showing an type of great form, despite that, Asteras are a very dangerous team that can strike the opposition at any moment.
Prediction – Panetolikos 2-1
Volos vs Lamia
One of the few games that does not have a lot writing on it however not all is as it seems, after Lamia lost to Panionios last week at home, head coach, Akis Mantzios was sacked, in his place, Giorgos Petrakis.
Volos lost last week to Larisa away from home, 3-1, the team was actually playing well and up 1-0 before a series of red cards undid all their good work and with 9 against 10 they couldn’t hold off the home team.
Prediction – Volos 2-1
Atromitos vs Larisa
A match that may not look like much in terms of a table position with both teams well clear of relegation, the battle to keep their job for both head coaches could make this tie an important one.
Both teams have been very disappointing this season, Atromitos, who have a decent squad have been a shadow of their former selves and Savvas Pantelidis has failed to live up to expectations, another loss or even drop of points at home could see him axed from the team.
Larisa, likewise have been very ordinary, a 3-1 home win last week was only their second win of 2020 and the team’s performance on the field continues to vary much in the 90 minutes.
If Coach, Mihalis Grigoriou starts Thanassis Papazoglou up front for another match, he deserves to be fired on the spot.
Prediction – 0-0 Draw
Hellas Football
Follow @GregGavalas
Comments
Post a Comment