AEK: The final ranking of the most important teams in the league

On Sunday evening (2/11, 20:00, NOVA Sports Prime and Live SPORT24) PAOK welcomes AEK to Toumba in the big derby of the Stoiximan Super League. Al-Shamal ranks first with 50 points, followed by Al-Ittihad in second place with 48 points.

Since the qualifiers are ahead of us and the differences between the competitors for the championship are small, the result of the match will not decide anything in the title struggle. But it will certainly provide us with many topics to discuss, and will also provide a sign for the continuation of the season.

PAOK and AEK are on fire

After all, these are the two most well-formed and best teams in the league. With many common elements, but at the same time different racing philosophies.

Razvan Lucescu and Matias Almeida have managed to make their mark and become what we call “the coach’s team”.

Let's take a look at the team's picture in defense and attack via xGoals.

The farther to the right the group is, the more threatening it is. The lower it is, the lower the threat.

This picture was after 21 matches.

PAOK has the best defensive performance (0.68 x goals against)AEK is the best striker (1.67 x goals for)While Olympiacos and Panathinaikos follow, but at a distance. As is clear, the differences between the two groups are small and confirm the excellent position they are in at the given time.

Meanwhile, the Black and White team is the team that created the most players Great chances in the league (66) And He got the lowest number (19). Basically, Razvan Lucescu's team managed to find a balance between defense and attack, achieving victories and a very good image on the field.

A struggle between two different styles

However, as mentioned earlier, the two teams may have some commonalities in terms of performance, but at a competitive level they serve a completely different style of play.

PAOK is the implementing team 14.5 possessions with 10+ passes per 90 minutesbut also 3.8 Build Attacks. But at the same time, AEK – thanks to their excellent pressing – is a team that does not allow their opponents to keep the ball at their feet.

Association He concedes just 2.7 possessions with 10+ passes per 90 minuteswhile PAOK has more than twice the tolerance, Giving up 5.6 possessions with 10+ assists. In general, yellow and black like to play fast, so they run out 2 direct attacks per 90'at the same time owned by PAOK 1.6.

The only ones with 30+ moves in the opponent's zone

The fact is that in the “9” position PAOK and AEK operate in a different way, as the white and black mainly use Brandon Thomas who is not a classic striker, while the yellow and black use tanks Levia Garcia and Eki Ponce .

However, this does not mean that Lucescu's side have difficulty pressing inside the box, as they have excellent wingers and midfielders, and have in their repertoire the ability to threaten and create chances from inside the box.

For this reason, PAOK and AEK are the only teams in the league to have more than 30 movements in the opponent's box. In particular, the northern biceps do this 31.1 Actions in the opponent's territoryWhile the union 33.5 per 90 feet.

Lucescu is looking for a rematch against Almeida

In conclusion, it is recognized that Matias Almeida, during the year and a half he spent in Greece and AEK, is the coach who made Razvan Lucescu harder than anyone else.

The Romanian coach was unable – in the first place – to find solutions to the style of play of the yellow and black, which resulted in 5 defeats in 6 matches, including the cup final.

Despite all this, the truth is that PAOK, in none of the previous six matches, has been in such a great state of play. Will Lucescu have the solutions or will Almeida continue to have the “upper hand” in their battles, we will know within a few hours.