Greek League
2006-11-05 - Panathinaikos vs Olympiakos
A Sports Betting Pick by Egaleo_city12
This is the biggest derby in Greek football, our "el classico", with an atmosphere captivating even for non-fans of the two teams like me.PANATHINAIKOS
After hitting rock bottom drawing at home against Metalurg Zaporizhzhya they only could get better, and they are doing so under the command of new coach Victor Munoz (former Zaragoza). He has made an impact from day one in the team, and with the good results the confidence of the players is rising again. Midweek Panathinaikos proved themselves to be too classy for Mlada Boleslav as they snatched an away victory of 1-0 rather easily. But they did not leave Czech Republic unharmed as they will probably miss Andreas Ivanschitz who has of late risen to be the mind of the team (the kick he recieved was so fierce that tore his shoe and made him a 2,5 inch wound that needed 10 stitches to close). For this match except Ivanscithz also international striker Papadopoulos will face a late fitness test, and Panathinaikos will also miss Gonzalez who is out with damaged ligaments since summer. Panathinaikos is getting better and better with every game and they have also had a huge improvment in the physical sector that has been their Acilles heel that season, causing them to collapse after 60 minutes of play. They have a high morale not only because of the latest
victories but mainly because the performances the team is puttin out have improved dramatically. For this game over 50.000 fans of
the home side are expected to be at OAKA stadium but no fans of Olympiacos due to a restriction, to avoid upsets between the fans.
OLYMPIACOS
Olympiacos managed to throw away another opportunity for an away win at Roma but they were not the better side in the game. The club
is in a mini crisis since the away defeat in the hands of Atromitos which was followed by an unconvincing victory over Super League new comers Ergotelis and of course the away draw at Roma. Coach Sollied has only victories to show in the greek derbies with AEK and Panathinaikos. For this match forward Castillo is back in the team and that's good news for Olympiacos as he's probably their best player that season. On the contrary defensive midfielder Stoltidis' participation is at risk because he is down with an illness and it won't be until the last minute that will be decided if he plays or not. If he doesn't play it will be a huge blow for Olypiacos' midfield. Midfielder/back Patsatzoglou will also be out after his new injury at Roma. For this game Olympiacos will rely in the class of some players like Rivaldo and Djordjevic but the team spirit is long gone in the squad. A victory in that derby will give
them an 8 point advantage over Panathinaikos and surely that is something they would like to accomplice so early in the season.
HEAD TO HEAD
The two teams have a huge history of mutual games. Since the start of the professional football league in Greece at 1979 with Panathinaikos hosting the game there have been 12 home wins, 21 draws and 12 away wins.
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 3:2 15.01.2006
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 0:2 28.08.2005
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 1:0 10.04.2005
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 1:0 04.12.2004
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 2:2 18.04.2004
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 1:1 22.11.2003
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 3:0 11.05.2003
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 3:2 12.01.2003
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 1:1 24.03.2002
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 2:2 01.12.2001
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 1:0 04.03.2001
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 1:1 07.02.2001
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 0:0 12.11.2000
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 2:2 26.03.2000
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 2:0 21.11.1999
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 0:0 09.05.1999
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 2:4 05.12.1998
Greek Cup Final 2003/2004
Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 1:3 08.05.2004
Greek Cup 2000/2001
Panathinaikos Athens Olympiakos Piraeus 1:4 07.03.2001
VERDICT
As in every derby the result is hard to predict. Panathinaikos have a more in-form team with their confidence rising but Olypiacos have more experienced players who certainly know how to win those matches. Both teams played midweek matches but Panathinaikos managed to rest a couple of players. With a packed stadium and an in-form squad i will have to give the edge to Panathinaikos to win that match because i prefer to rely on Panathinaikos' momentum and enthusiasm.
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Panathinakos@ 2.70 at INTERWETTEN or about the same price AFTER commission at Betfair.A really small punt on HT/FT X/1 at prices about 5 might be a good idea as i don't expect neither side to overwhelm the other and if this is going to be a home victory it's going to be a close one.
