AEK vs. Panathinaikos Preview
Well, we play PAO Sunday at 12 noon East Coast Time. It some ways AEK and Panathinaikos are similarly situated; we’ve both been eliminated from the Greek Cup and the UEFA Cup. Thus, we have only one thing to focus on — the league. In other ways, though, we are in different places. Panathinaikos have been playing very well. In calendar year 2008, for example, they have won six of their seven Super League matches played so far, and their only non-win was a 1-1 draw against Olympiacos. AEK, on the other hand, have won just four of their seven league matches in 2008, losing the other three for a net loss of 9 points. Furthermore, while AEK were soundly defeated by Getafe in the second leg of their UEFA Cup fixture, Panathinaikos were eliminated on away goals after dominating the majority of both legs of their tie with Ranges FC.
Reviewing the above, Sunday’s match is starting to look a little scary, isn’t it? We’re certainly not in top form, and adding to our woes is the fact that this derby, which is sure to be one of our toughest games all season, will be only our fourth game under caretaker manager Kostenoglou. Ideally, we’d have an easier fixture this week, something to give us some more time to settle on a new starting line-up, some more room for Kostenoglou to find his comfort zone. But that’s not the hand we’ve been dealt, so we face one our toughest opponents at a crucial juncture or our season.
A quick look at the standings shows what’s at stake. If we lose, Panathinaikos stays top of the table with 52 points, and we remain in third, all but doomed with a paltry 45 points. Under this scenario, Olympiacos stays second regardless if they win, lose or draw. If we win, however, the standings tighten up considerably. Panathinaikos would remain above us, but just barely with 49 points to our 48. If Olympiacos lose, which is unlikely (though given their present form, anything is possible), we will be third with the same number of points as second place Oly (derby results resolve ties in the standings in the Greek League, not goal differentials). Under this scenario, even if Olypiacos win, they would still be within a single result of us. If we draw with Panathinaikos, we’d still be in it, but our fate wouldn’t be in our hands, as we’d be largely dependent on PAO and OLY dropping points to lesser teams.
So, how will we do this weekend? How will we line up? Unfortunately, its impossile to tell. Kostenoglou, in his three games at the helm, has not revealed a persistent formula. His formations have changed and his line-ups have been consistently inconsistent as he has tried different formulas. There are bright spots though, to be sure. Dellas, Lyberopoulos, Zikos and Cesar seem to be flourishing under Kostenoglou. Papastathopoulos, Moretto (though Moretto can be a bit error prone) and Blanco would play above-average ball for any manager (though Kostenoglou is not using Blanco nearly enough, so let’s hope that changes Sunday). Kallon, though he wasn’t used at all last weekend, has shown flashes of brilliant football.
In other words, there’s hope for us yet.
