The Super League continues in Greece as we near the half way point of the schedule, however it seems that the scouting groups of the clubs are out in full force in order to fill those missing pieces in the roster of each of the squads.

Champions AEK, who will host Lamia this weekend, will be looking to replace the three players that have been reported to not renew their contracts (Lambropoulos, Bakasetas, Simoes). Among those rumored to take their place are Swedish Norrkoping midfielder Simon Tern, Atletico Temberley midfielder Adrian Areggui and 29-year-old Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ader Iturraspe. Not all these players will be transferred to the club, although it is obvious that there is mobility and that Marinos Ouzounidis will get the help he desperately needs so that the team can protect the title they fought so hard to win last season.

Table leaders PAOK in the meantime, seem to want to focus all their efforts in remaining in first position all the way till the end. Manager Razvan Lucescu believes that defender Fernando Varela is a key part of the squad and hopes the club can renew his contract before interest from neighbouring Turkish club becomes more than verbal.
The “black-and-whites” will welcome AEL on Sunday as they will most likely be without Pelkas and Paschalakis for this match.

Olympiacos have moved to second place, yet the club’s management feels that they need support up front, with rumours surrounding Sweden international and former Panathinaikos striker Markus Berg intensifying. The club has also been linked with other high-profile names, such as Fenerbahce’s Roberto Soldado and Norwich’s Nelson Oliveira.

At the same time, Yaya Toure bid farewell to his teammates as he hosted a dinner for them at a restaurant in Piraeus. However they will need to put all this to the side for now, as they travel to Xanthi to face the local team, which has traditionally been a difficult opponent for them, especially in the away games.

Panathinaikos, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be too capable of spending too much right now, considering their financial position and the collapse of the agreement with Thai businessman Pairoj Piempongsant. Instead they are opting to focus on the development of the young players that they currently have. Manager Giorgos Donis continues to offer game time to even more players from the under-20’s, such as Skenterai, Serpezis and Tzavidas, who were all included in the mid-week Cup game against O.F.Ierapetra that ended in a 2-2 draw.
Panathinaikos travels to Crete on Sunday to face O.F.Irakleio this time, hoping to maintain their better-than-expected form so far.

The most interesting game on the schedule however, will undoubtedly be played in Peristeri, with Atromitos facing Aris. Damir Canadi’s man will hope to bring an end to their 2-game string of negative results, while Aris will want to take advantage of the home team’s poor recent form and walk away with a good result from what has been a difficult ground to play for most teams in the division.

Currently PAOK sit on top of the table with 32 points, followed by Olympiacos who have 26 and Atromitos who have 25. AEK are fourth with 20.

GREEK SUPER LEAGUE DAY 13 FIXTURES

Saturday 08 December

  • Asteras Tripolis – PAS Giannina
  • AEK – Lamia

Sunday 09 December

  • Xanthi – Olympiacos
  • OFI – Panathinaikos
  • Atromitos – Aris
  • PAOK – AEL

Monday 10 December

  • Panetolikos – Apollon Smyrnis
  • Panionios – Levadiakos