AEK are taking some breathers as they feverishly prepare for the big derby with Olympiakos on May 15. Her task for Faleiro this time around will be tougher than the days of Mathias Almeida, but she will have the former trio as her guide.
AEK exited the derby with PAOK, followed by Matias Almeida, and now turn to the next big game with Olympiakos in Georgios Karaiskakis, where, like Toumba, they will look for one last big double to clean up the title case. .
Sending yellow-blacks is not easy. Olympiakos are currently in good spirits after a huge double in Birmingham, while they still have two games before the match with AEK, a rematch with Aston Villa and a derby with PAOK in Toomba.
The last fight will shape the battle for the title, with whom AEK will lay claim to the end. Of course, Union will need a win against Lamia in their last game, unless the derby ends in a draw in Thessaloniki.
During the Matias Almeida era, AEK did very well under Georgios Karaiskakis, with two wins and a draw in the league and a “painless” defeat in the cup, when he qualified for the final. But this time he won Olympiakos In its best period compared to earlier times.
Jose Luis Medibar has raised Pires’ status, which was recently seen in the derby in New Philadelphia (more), yes AEK took it in the final, but Olympiakos stood out on the pitch. He’s had this great run in Europe and remains in contention for the title even though he’s gone top-9 on the season.
Meanwhile, the derby has gone 17 days without conceding a game, while the Red and Whites have conceded three. He will certainly be more fresh and this is an asset he will have to exploit, as well as in-form players like Levi Garcia who need special treatment and can play a key role in this match.
Until then, of course, there will be a long period in which there will be enough preparation time and its data may change.
Three previous derbies at Karaiskakis show her the way
Mathias Almeida coached AEK’s first derby against Olympiakos was at Georgios Karaiskakis and it ended goalless (0-0).
AEK did well in this match, especially in the first half with more chances than Olympiakos.
Finals and expected goals at Olympiakos – AEK
However, he also had several excellent chances in his favor from Olympiakos with xGoals 0.9 – 1.
In last year’s playoff game, AEK went 3-1 in the doubleheader that provided the spark to clinch the title.
Finals and expected goals at Olympiakos – AEK
The Union completely dominated the entire match, three times more finals than Pires (5-15) and correspondingly more xGoals (0.3 – 1.8) Levia Garcia’s penalty raised the indicators.
This particular game was the best of the three that AEK gave to Karaiskakis as it basically completely dominated the field and occupied most of the match.
The latest derby Again AEK won 2-1. He played particularly well on the pitch in the first half and received a lot of pressure from Olympiakos without changing the score in the second half.
Final and xGoals in the match
Despite all that, he ended up with more finals (9-13) and slightly more xGoals (0.9 – 1) in this competition, as in their first derby (with Almeida at the helm of AEK), which ended 0-0.
Of course, of the three above, Olympiakos had a different coach, as they faced him in Karaiskakis alongside Mitchell, Anikou and Carvalhal. AEK only played at the OPAP Arena in the first round of the playoffs, against Jose Luis Medilibar, and Data should be better to come away with another double from Faleiro.