A rotated AEK side kicked off the second stretch of the season with a comfortable 2-0 victory over second division side Kifisia in the Greek Cup last week. Matias Almeyda’s men haven’t lost a single game since back in early September, when they were defeated 2-1 away at league leaders Panathinaikos.

AEK have improved significantly since late August and the World Cup break has offered Almeyda – who joined the team in the summer – the opportunity to work more in training with his players. Meanwhile, since moving to their new stadium in early October, AEK have won all their five games on home soil, having scored 12 goals and conceded just one.

They will return to action with what is expected to be one of the easiest duels they will dispute at home this season, as no team have scored fewer goals than Lamia (2 in 7 games) away from home thus far. On Wednesday, Lamia will face the second-best attack (23 goals scored in 13 matches) and second-best defence (5 goals conceded) in the Greek Super League.

AEK defeated Lamia (3-0) comfortably in the first round of the season. They have won all their last nine H2H games, in which they didn’t concede a single goal and averaged two goals per match.

In the first round, Almeyda’s side beat all the teams currently sitting in the bottom five of the table. All these five victories came with a handicap of -1 Goals for AEK Athens and a similar result should be expected for their first league game after the World Cup break.

AEK want to reduce the gap between them (29 points) and league leaders Panathinaikos (37 points) before the playoffs kick off in March. They are expected to grab another comfortable home win with a handicap of -1 Goals, as they did away at Lamia in the first round.

Panathinaikos were the most in-form Greek side before the World Cup break, having dropped just two points from 13 league games in the first stretch of the season. The Athens-based side comfortably sit top of the Greek Super League table, eight points ahead of second-placed AEK Athens.

Along the way, Panathinaikos secured some fortunate results, including five narrow 1-0 victories in 13 games. There have been doubts on whether Ivan Jovanovic’s men can maintain this form and actually go all the way to the title for the first time since 2010. However, Panathinaikos have demonstrated their ability to grab professional wins when they need to do so this season.

This won’t be their first official game after the World Cup break, as Panathinaikos grabbed a comfortable 3-0 Greek Cup victory against a solid Volos side, who sit fifth in the Greek Super League table.

On Wednesday, they will take on bottom-placed Ionikos, who have grabbed just one victory and lost eight of their 13 games this season. Ionikos have been struggling to deliver on the pitch after a solid 2021/22 campaign. They were knocked out from the Greek Cup after being defeated 4-0 at Volos back in October and haven’t scored a single goal in their last two league games, losing 1-0 away at Asteras Tripolis and 3-0 to PAOK on home soil.

However, the defeat that hurt them the most came during the World Cup break, when they were thrashed 7-0 by a struggling OFI side in a mid-season preparation friendly. In his post-match remarks, coach Dimitris Spanos announced his resignation, taking the club by surprise as they have put their confidence in the experienced tactician despite Ionikos’ poor campaign. The club didn’t accept Spanos’ resignation, but there has been unrest at Ionikos this last week.

The game against the Greek Super League leaders comes at the worst possible moment for Ionikos, who were beaten 1-0 away at Panathinaikos in the first round. Jovanovic’s side is not expected to struggle against Ionikos. They may not be the team that cruises past weaker opponents, but they definitely know how to win and move forward.