Olympiacos looks for revival against Aris

By: Peter Katsiris | October 25th, 2008

After a disappointing trip to neighboring Turkey, Olympiacos will be hoping its visit to Thessaloniki for a meeting with Aris FC will provide the Greek Champions with better fortunes. A dismal display against Turkish Champions Galatasaray on Thuirsday saw the Super League leaders drop three potential points with a 1-0 loss at the Ali Sami Yen. Meanwhile, Aris will hope the Greek Champions continue to struggle at the as the home side looks to get back on track.

The Greek Super League has been Olympiacos safe haven thus far – allowing the Piraeus club to scrape through matches without much effort. However, the same cannot be expected on Sunday night. Despite Aris’ poor start to the season, the gritty effort given by the ‘God of War’ is not properly supported by the club’s current rank among the Super League standings: eleventh. With both sides desperate for maximum points -even though desperation is a result of different reasons – the Kleanthis Vikealidis should be the venue of an intense physical encounter.

Both teams seem to be in opposite spectrums of the Greek Super League; Olympiacos currently enjoys it usual spot at the Greek summit, while Aris’ supporters struggle to adjust with unchartered territory known as the basement of the Greek Super League. Olympiacos continues to ride a domestic undefeated streak – with the only falter thus far was a 0-0 draw with OFI in Crete. For Aris, the results are somewhat of a complete 180. After last year’s impressive finish, Aris was tipped to cause headaches for Olympiacos in their title defense; ever since the Thessaloniki-based side crashed out of Europe, the road been a downward spiral.

With the loss to Galatasaray seriously deflating Olympiacos and its supporters, the news that Dudu and Leonardo are fit for action once again should act as a boost. Goals have been hard to come by on the club’s road fixtures and with Aris’ defense not keen on conceding the trend should continue in Thessaloniki.

On a side note, this will be the first time Avraam Papadopoulos faces his old team since his summer transfer to Piraeus.