It all comes down to this! Current Greek champions PAOK and the team with the most trophies in the country, Olympiacos, will meet at the Toumba stadium this Sunday to decide who will get to finish the regular season at the top of the ladder.

There’s been a lot of tension and anticipation in the build-up for the big game, with tickets being sold out days before by the fanatic supporters of the home side who are sure to show up in high numbers to demonstrate their support to their team.

Security measures will also be high of course, in order to ensure that fans don’t go overboard with their expressions of support.

Which is the reason why the protective net will be restored to the area between the stands and the pitch, with armed police forces being high in number at the stadium from hours before the kick-off.

Both the authorities and the stakeholders of the Greek Super League want the game to go on without a hitch, asking both sides to downplay their social activity in the days before the game, with tensions between the two clubs already high enough from months in advance.

In regards to the purely athletic side of events, PAOK manager Abel Ferreira has had ample time to prepare his team for the difficult fixture.

The Portuguese coach plans on following his custom 4-5-1 formation, with Alexandros Paschalakis under the goalposts, Fernando Varela and Ingi Ingasson in the heart of defence and Dimitris Giannoulis and Leo Matos on the sides.

Mauricio will be the one defensive midfielder, with the position next to him staying open until kick off. Anderson Esiti and Douglas Augusto are the two candidates to start beside the Brazilian.

The left wing position will be given to Omar El-Kaddouri, with Dimitris Limnios playing on the right and Dimitris Pelkas given a more free role. Karol Swiderski will be the lone striker.

As for the visitors, they won’t have a lot of time to recover after their hard-fought battle with Arsenal for the Europa League, but Pedro Martins’ men can still settle for a draw at Toumba, considering they’re two points in front of their opponents.

The Portuguese gaffer will more than likely choose Jose Sa as his goalkeeper, with Ruben Semedo and Ousseynou Ba as his central defenders. Kostas Tsimikas and Omar Elabdellaoui will play on the two sides of defence.

Guillherme will take charge of the build-up from midfield, having Andreas Bouchalakis and Mady Camara beside him.

Mathieu Valbuena will play in his usual creative role, with Greek internationals Kostas Fortounis and Giorgos Masouras fighting for the other position.

Super League top scorer Youssef El Arabi will be up front, although it is possible that Ahmet Hassan could be given the forward position, considering his recent form.

With most of the other places for the play-offs already secured, the interest now lies at who will claim the sixth position, with eight teams still in the race to clinch that final spot.

GREEK SUPER LEAGUE ROUND 25 SCHEDULE
Saturday 22 February
7:30 pm Asteras Tripolis-Panathinaikos
8:00 pm Lamia-Aris
Sunday 23 February
3:00 pm Panetolikos-Panionios
5:15 pm Atromitos-Xanthi
5:15 pm Volos-AEL
7:30 pm AEK-OFI
7:30 pm PAOK-Olympiacos