Olympiakos and AEK face off tomorrow
Olympiakos and AEK will fight it out tomorrow for the second spot in the soccer Super League playoffs, as results in Sunday’s fifth round did not make the situation any clearer regarding who will follow certain table-topper PAOK. The Thessaloniki side notched its fourth win in five games, beating visiting AEK 1-0 thanks to a beautiful Zlatan Muslimovic strike early in the second half. Minutes earlier, AEK had missed its best chance to take the lead as Nacho Scocco saw his penalty kick saved by PAOK goalkeeper Dario Kresic. PAOK fans and players continued celebrating what is only the club’s second entry to the Champions League qualifiers, although it was yesterday reported that Portuguese coach Fernando Santos’s departure from the club this summer would be confirmed today. His likely successor is compatriot Jorge Costa. Earlier on Sunday, Olympiakos and Aris had played out an ill-tempered goalless draw at the new Karaiskakis Stadium in Faliro, in front of just over 7,000 fans, an attendance that represents an all-time low. Once again, Olympiakos had a man, Michal Zewlakow, sent off but Aris also finished the match with 10 men after a red card was later shown to Cristian Nasuti. They will both miss the deciding matches scheduled for tomorrow at 9.15 p.m. The Thessaloniki derby between Aris and PAOK (live on Skai television) will see Aris needing a win to finish second from bottom in the playoff table, which would mean it will avoid starting in the Europa League from mid-July. Any other result will see it finish last. The big match will be in Athens, though, as AEK hosts Olympiakos at the Olympic Stadium (live on NovaSports1) with the winner finishing second and going straight into the last qualifying round of the Europa League before the lucrative group stage. A draw will favor visiting Olympiakos, which is going into the match with serious injury problems.
