The “fortress” that AEK has built in Nea Filadelfeia. The comparison in matches against the Big-4 between the first two seasons in the new stadium and the Panathinaikos that left the job half done. SPORT24 presents all the actions of the Union at its home in the Stoiximan Super League.
The first derby of the year at OPAP Arena is approaching, with the stadium gates in Nea Filadelfeia opening to welcome Panathinaikos on Sunday evening (29/09, 21:30, COSMOTE SPORT 1HD, LIVE from SPORT24).
The two teams will take to the pitch starting from different premises. AEK comes from yet another draw, this time against Athens Kallithea in the 5th round of the Stoiximan Super League, knowing, however, that a victory combined with a points loss by PAOK, which faces Aris at Toumba (29/09, 20:30, Novasports Prime, LIVE from SPORT24), will bring it to the top of the Greek league, with or without a roommate.
The “greens” have already lost five points in matches against theoretically lower-ranked opponents, which is the same number of points that separate them from the league leader, PAOK.
The fortress of OPAP Arena
In 2017, the former owner of the Union, Dimitris Melissanidis, stated that “the walls of ‘Agia Sophia’ will never fall” and while it may be too early to say this for the OPAP Arena, at least on the competitive level, the Double-headed has transformed its stadium into an almost impregnable fortress.
Since October 30, 2022, when AEK played its first derby at its natural home against PAOK, until today, Matias Almeida’s team has played a total of 12 home matches in the league against the Big-4.
The statistical representation shows that the Union has only experienced defeat once, that defeat being against Olympiakos in the last match of the double-winning season, with the remaining results being six wins and five draws.
In addition, the goal differential is in its favor, as it has scored 19 goals and has seen its net breached eight times.
In fact, these goals have been conceded in just four matches, as it has recorded eight clean sheets.
Regarding the comparison of results that AEK has produced between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, last year the Union showed an improvement in point collection (12 points versus 11 in the first year) and in scoring (11 in the second against eight in the first), while it collected the ball from its net more times (five goals versus three).
The job that remained unfinished
On the strictly competitive side of the Athens derby, in the two seasons since the “yellow-blacks” have been playing at OPAP Arena, four matches have been held between AEK and Panathinaikos.
The Union holds the lion’s share, being unbeaten. The “Pelado” has one win and one draw against Ivan Jovanovic, with the exact same results against Fatih Terim. Of course, against the Turk, it came one step away from drinking the “bitter cup” of defeat.
On January 14, 2024, the Double-headed hosted the rejuvenated Panathinaikos, which was trying to present itself under Terim’s guidance.
The “greens” played better than AEK at its own game, pressing high in the opponent’s first third, ball thefts, and launching immediate attacks, while they were also extremely dangerous on counterattacks.
This was the main reason Panathinaikos came just a few minutes away from the double, as they were equalized at 2-2 with a penalty from Livai Garcia in the 90+6′.
There are many questions ahead of Sunday’s derby. Will Diego Alonso present a similar plan to the one he followed at Toumba?
How will Matias Almeida choose to line up his own team against the third different coach he faces on the “green” bench?
All will become clear within the four lines, in a game that, although it comes early in the season, has huge scoring significance.
AEK’s results in derbies at OPAP Arena
- 2022/23 30/10/2022 AEK – PAOK 2-0 (Stoiximan Super League)
- 2022/23 08/01/2023 AEK – Panathinaikos 1-0 (Stoiximan Super League)
- 2022/23 12/03/2023 AEK – Olympiakos 1-3 (Stoiximan Super League)
- 2022/23 19/03/2023 AEK – Panathinaikos 0-0 (Playoffs Stoiximan Super League )
- 2022/23 26/04/2023 AEK – PAOK 4-0 (Playoffs Stoiximan Super League )
- 2022/23 03/05/2023 AEK – Olympiakos 0-0 (Playoffs Stoiximan Super League)
- 2023/24 19/09/2023 AEK – Olympiakos 1-1 (Stoiximan Super League)
- 2023/24 30/10/2023 AEK – PAOK 2-0 (Stoiximan Super League)
- 2023/24 14/01/2024 AEK – Panathinaikos 2-2 (Stoiximan Super League)
- 2023/24 31/03/2024 AEK – Olympiakos 1-0 (Playoffs Stoiximan Super League )
- 2023/24 07/04/2024 AEK – PAOK 2-2 (Playoffs Stoiximan Super League )
- 2023/24 24/04/2024 AEK – Panathinaikos 3-0 (Playoffs Stoiximan Super League )