AEK – Antwerp

Greek champion to score first in return meeting with Belgian team

Since the 2017/2018 season, AEK Athens have been consistently in the top three teams in Greece. At the end of last year's Super League 1 under Matias Almeida, the team finished second in the main tournament, and then snatched the title from Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. AEK started the current season only in mid-August with a duel with Dinamo Zagreb in the third round of Champions League qualification. This clash was one of the most dramatic in this year's European qualifiers. First, the Greek champion snatched a 2-1 win in Zagreb, becoming favourites for the return leg in Athens. However, by the 90th minute of the second game, Dinamo were planning to celebrate their entry into the play-off round, as they led 2-0. Nevertheless, AEK players not only levelled the score in the two-match duel but also snatched victory by scoring two goals (2:2). The first match against Antwerp did not go well for the Greek club. AEK conceded a quick goal in Belgium and created many chances to equalise. However, even a penalty early in the second half prevented them from doing so - 0:1. The Athens team did not strain much in the first meeting of the championship, where they failed to beat modest Pancerraikos. Apparently, all eyes in the Greek capital are fixed on the upcoming match with the Belgian champions. The bookmakers consider the home team as favourites to win the game in regulation time, offering odds of 1.77 on this outcome. Antwerp became Belgian champions for the first time since the 50s of the last century. Accordingly, the team started in the Champions League qualification for the first time in its existence. By the time of the first meeting with AEK, Mark van Bommel's wards had played five official matches. Two of them were away games and brought the team a defeat to Anderlecht and a draw with Heverlee Louvain. The upcoming away trip will be even tougher for Antwerp than the away matches in the national league. Greek fans know how to support their players. We bet that AEK will go ahead and at least score first.