Panathinaikos – PAOK: A classic Cup pair

In the championship they go hand in hand. PAOK edged past Panathinaikos with victory in the recent Toumba derby between the two, the Greens now closing in on a point after the double-header draw last Sunday. The league still has 14 games, including the playoffs, and the two teams will meet again there, but for the time being, the Cup comes first. Qualifying for the final and winning it. Today, PAOK and Panathinaikos play their first semi-final in Thessaloniki (7:30 p.m.) and in a week is the rematch at Leoforos. To a couple who in recent years have told this institution many times. In fact, this will be the sixth time in the last decade that PAOK and Panathinaikos will face each other in the country’s second-ranked football institution. With the Greens prevailing in the only games of the finals and the Bighead advancing all three times they were knocked out.

Panathinaikos won twice in the final, three times in knockouts (semi-finals and quarter-finals) they emerged victorious and PAOK qualified. The first time was exactly ten years ago, in 2014, in the final of the Olympic Stadium. Where Panathinaikos, led by Marcus Berg, who had scored a hat trick, prevailed with an impressive 4-1 win over PAOK and lifted the trophy. A few years later, in the 2016-17 season the two teams met in the semi-finals of the Cup. Panathinaikos beat PAOK 2-0 at Alexandras Avenue in the first game and everyone thought it was a qualification advantage. But in the second leg of Toumba, PAOK overturned the facts and with an impressive 4-0 was the one who qualified for the final.

Three years later, in the 2019-20 season, the two opponents were drawn in the quarter-finals of the Greek Cup, with PAOK proving its superiority at the time (it was the period when Panathinaikos was playing with many youngsters due to the transfer ban) and taking the qualification with two wins. 2-0 in Toumba and 1-0 in the Olympic Stadium, where the replay took place. On the same field, at the Olympic Stadium, the two teams met two years later, in May 2022, in the grand final of the Cup.

It was the first final for Panathinaikos after eight years and it was against the same opponent. With the result also being the same, that is Panathinaikos taking the Cup this time with 1-0 thanks to a penalty by Aitor. The… habit continued last year as well. Again, Panathinaikos and PAOK were drawn in the Cup, in the quarter-finals of the competition, with PAOK emerging victorious in yet another knockout. The 2-0 victory in the first match in Toumba gave him a big lead, a lead he confirmed in the second leg in Leoforos with the final 1-1 sending him to the semi-finals of the event. This year the two teams meet in the semi-finals, the sixth time in the last ten years that they will face each other in the Hellenic Cup.

Fatih Terim’s rotation continues. Not only in the eleven, but also in the mission of Panathinaikos from match to match. For Ioannidis, it was known and we pointed it out yesterday that he will miss not only today’s game, but also Saturday’s game against Lamia. And of course, it is not certain how he will compete in the repeat of Leoforos. From there, Hugo and Akaidin were key on Sunday in Serres, but they are not even in the squad for today’s game, the same is the case with Verbic, while Aitor and Limnios were also left out, along with the injured Jurisic, Palmer – Brown and Magnuson. Once again, there will be several changes from the Turkish coach and we expect to see Arao, Jedvai, Mladenovic, Ruben, Mancini and maybe Geremegev starting in the starting line-up, while it is possible that he will return Kotsiras to the midfield while keeping Vaiannidis right.

Razvan Lucescu is also expected to make changes in relation to Sunday’s derby with AEK. Constantelias is still suffering from a virus and we will hardly see him, while Despodov and Brandon Thomas, who came on as substitutes in the match against AEK, will be the main players. We remind you that today’s game will be played with the presence of people in the stands, Toumba will be full, while PAOK reminded yesterday that “no one in the stadium without a ticket! Based on the new legislation, children of all ages will have to come to the stadium with a registered ticket.”