Olympiacos forced to shuffle priorities ahead of Pankritio trip

By: Peter Katsiris | February 22nd, 2009

A shocking 3-1 defeat at the hands of Saint-Etienne on Wednesday has imposed serious issues for Olympiacos and manager Ernesto Valverde ahead of the club’s Greek Super League fixture with Ergotelis FC (Novasports 1. On the verge of elimination from the UEFA Cup after their self-destructive performance at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium against the French side, Olympiacos will look to bounce back to form on Sunday against their Cretan hosts.

On Wednesday, tragic mistake in the center of defence weakened Olympiacos’ bid for an aggregate lead and the Piraeus giants were toppled by the French minnows. With an eleven point over Panathinaikos and PAOK (who both won, 2-1 and 1-0 against Panionios and Iraklis respectively on Saturday) atop the Super League standings, there is plenty of breathing room for Olympiacos from a domestic standpoint.

With a horrid away record, inferior at the least to their home successes, a meeting with Ergotelis could prove to be a tight match. Already feeling the wrath of an injury bug, Valverde will likely rest some of his regulars as a replay with Saint-Etienne is not too far in the horizon.

Luciano Galletti, the club’s season-long second wind, will miss the first of what is expected to be three matches, as the Argentine is doubtful for Olympiacos’ trip to France and ‘Eternal Derby’ meeting with Panathinaikos. Compatriot Sebastian Leto will also remain available; the on-loan Liverpool prospect destined to miss his second consecutive match. A late scratch is centerback Paraskevas Antzas, after the former Greece international picked up an undisclosed injury.

Suspension will rule out Vasilis Torosidis, as the Greece international will be forced to miss out on his side’s visit to Heraklion due to consecutive bookings.

On the bright side of what is a gloomy list of absentees, Fernando Belluschi has overcome a late injury scare and will be ready to suit up for the ‘Erythrolefki’.

Changes aren’t expected to be abundant, but the injured Galletti will likely be replaced by Oscar Gonzalez, while Leonardo will assume Predrag Djordjevic’s role in the midfield. Michal Zewlakow will likely partner up with Avraam Papadopoulos in the center of defense, as the Poland international steps up in Antzas’ absence. Diogo is expected to fill the role as Valverde’s lone striker.

For Ergotelis, a visit from the league’s best team is not a date to look forward too, but the Cretans will be confident as Nikos Karageorgiou’s men look to catch the Greek Champions at just the right time. Currently on a three-game winless skid, the Pankritio tenants will be optimistic against Olympiacos after already beating Panathinaikos, and holding PAOK to a draw in Heraklion this year.

Their previous meeting with their Sunday opponents came under the hot lights of Karaiskaki, and a hostile venue was the stage for was 2-0 loss, days after beating Panathinaikos in Athens.

On Sunday they will be desperate to level the score with the Piraeus giants, but will more likely be relying on maximum points to keep pace with their rivals in the relegation zone. Only five points from the drop zone, the gap could be reduced to just three if Panserraikos and Thrasyvoulos are successful on Sunday – OFI drew 0-0 with Skoda Xanthi on Saturday.

Karageorgiou is blessed with the abundance of a fully-fit squad available to tackle the league leaders, but his players will be in tough against the league’s best defense.

Ergotelis FC (Nikos Karageorgiou): Posza, Daskalakis, Orfanos, Gialousis, Plassnegger, Beto, Hieblinger, Mauricio, Kennedy, Kordounouris, Romano, Frangoulakis, Koutsianikoulis, Junior, Rogerio, Ogounsoto, Vakouftsis, Budimir, Geladaris, Kefaloukos.

Olympiacos CFP (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Kovac, Pantos, Domi, Patsatzoglou, Djordjevic, Belluschi, Zewlakow, Mitroglou, Dudu, K. Papadopoulos, Derbyshire, Oscar, Leonardo, Mendrinos, A. Papadopoulos, Diogo, Galitsios.