PAOK-Panathinaikos: Second final in three twenty-four hours for the “Two-Headed”, the “greens” are looking for a reaction

Crucial derby tonight (20:00, Novasports Prime, News Bulletin 247, sport-fm.gr) in Thessaloniki and at the Toumba stadium, with PAOK hosting Panathinaikos for the 9th and penultimate matchday of the Stoiximan Super playoffs League!

With spirits high after his commanding victory over Olympiakos last Sunday (12/5), the “Biceps of the North” beat the “red and white” 2-0 and took the first of the three steps needed to be crowned champion! Lucescu’s side came out fully prepared for the clash with the Conference League finalists, were clearly superior to their opposition on the pitch and finally managed to claim the all-important victory which kept them alive in their quest for this year’s title, flying at the same time, the Mendiliber team is out of contention.

In second place in the standings and at -1 from AEK, PAOK will look for a second big win in a row, at the same time hoping for a “mistake” by the Union in “Georgios Karaiskakis”, so that having the advantage in the last matchday, in which they will have away derby of Thessaloniki with Aris. Now, PAOK has left behind the bad period that passed with the five consecutive matches without a win in the league and Europe, now counting consecutive victories against AEK and Olympiacos!

As far as racing is concerned, o Rasvan Lucescu he did not announce an assignment but will have all his players available, except of course the long-term injured Ekong, who has returned to practice but is expected to play in the final games of the season. In addition, as far as the lineup is concerned and according to the report that Dimitris Tsorbatzoglou has carried on the “air” of News Bulletin 247, the Romanian coach will probably change the right back (Oto anti Sastre) and Meite’s partner in the axis (Ozdoev instead of Schwab), while the question remains whether he will choose Tomas or Samata at the top of the attack. Finally, it is worth mentioning that six PAOK players (Despodov, Schwab, Tomas, Baba, Otto and Koulierakis) are at the limit of cards and are in danger of losing the derby of the last game against Aris.

On the other hand, Mr Panathinaikos he traveled to Thessaloniki coming off his two consecutive painful defeats against AEK (3-0) and Ari (0-1), which effectively put him out of contention for the title. Now, a realistic goal for the “greens” ahead of the rest of the season is to avoid the fourth place in the playoffs, before throwing all the weight in the final of the Cup against Aris.

In racing, o Fatih Terim will not have the injured person available Ioannidisbut also him Verbich who is suffering from a virus, while both O Aitorwho became a father and is absent on special leave, as well as Djuricwho was left out for tactical reasons.

The mission of Panathinaikos: Lodingin, Dragovski, Xenopoulos, Vaiannidis, Huancar, Ruben, Zeka, Bakasetas, Sporar, Bernard, Limnios, Cerin, Mancini, Jedvai, Mladenovic, Kotsiras, Geremegev, Palasios, Vilena, Arao, Akaidin.

The two sides have already met five times this season, starting last October when the two sides drew 2-2 at the Avenue. For the second round of the regular Stoiximan Super League, PAOK won 2-1 in Toumba, while the two teams also met for the semi-final stage of the Cup, with the “Two-Headed of the North” celebrating qualification, having been defeated by 1-0 at Leoforo, but winning 2-1 in extra time of the second leg (1-0 regular time) and winning 6-5 in the penalty shootout. In their most recent meeting, on March 31 last year, PAOK celebrated a 3-2 away victory.

Possible lineups:



PAOK (Lucescu, 4-2-3-1): Kotarski – Otto, Keziora, Koulierakis, Baba – Ozdoev, Meite – Zivkovic, Constantelias, Tyson – Thomas

Panathinaikos (Term, 4-3-3): Dragovski – Kotsiras, Gedvai, Arao, Juancar – Cerin, Perez, Bacachetas – Mancini, Bernard, Sporar

Referee: Lindhout Allard (Netherlands)

Assistants: Roger Heining, Patrick Roger (Netherlands)

Fourth: Basil of Fire

VAR: Joachim Campius

AVAR: George Kollias