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Not very tall, but Zorya still has a shot at second. To continue the fight in the Europa League in the spring, the Luhansk team now need to beat the guests from Greece. Skripnik has no options for maneuvering, other options, or hopes of failures from competitors. In the first two games, the “black-white” lost, it is time to interrupt this failed series.
Europa League. Group G. Third round
Stadium: Slavutich-Arena (Zaporozhye)
Head Judge: William Callum (Scotland)
Zarya (Lugansk, Ukraine) 22:00 AEK (Athens, Greece)
TV broadcast on the Football 2 channel
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The Athenians, like the Lugansk team, lost in the first two games of the UEL group stage. Leicester was stronger 2-1, while Braga defeated AEK 3-0. However, Massimo Carrera’s team had two games in qualifying and in these games the Greek team felt the taste of victories, which can add confidence to the guests at the Slavutich Arena.
First, AEK on a visit faced the Swiss “St. Gallen ”1: 0, and then the Athenian team went to the playoffs, well known to us“ Wolfsburg ”2: 1. AEK is doing well in the Greek championship – wins in the last two games – over“ OFI ”2: 1 and “Yanina” 1: 0. In third place in their championship is the Carrera team.
Zorya has a bad situation in both the Europa League and the Premier League. Only in eighth place is the Luhansk team, and last weekend they were unable to beat Ingulets 1: 1. The Skripnik team has only two victories this season: over Rukh 4: 0 and Lvov 5: 0, with three defeats and four draws.
The main thing that Zarya lacks in recent matches is confidence and teamwork, and along with this, as a result, stability. In two victorious matches, the “whites-blacks” took the courage, hit the opponents’ full basket, but then “flew” and looked like a faded shadow of themselves. Will anything change in the confrontation with AEK?
Notably, for Zorya, the 2020/21 season is the third attempt to pass the Europa League group stage. In 2016, they managed to get two draws in six games, with four losses, fourth place. In 2017, the Luhansk team ranked third in the group with two wins. Now I would like to progress and second place. But it is not easy for the “blue and white” matches of the Europa League, as if some kind of complex was imposed. It is time to face ourselves and with unnecessary emotion, yet episodes, even in the most unsuccessful matches, but Zorya shows a good attitude and ability to achieve results. Perhaps this time it will be possible to play your own football, because Greek clubs are also notorious for instability.
STATISTICS
Zorya and AEK had never met before, furthermore, the Luhansk team had never met representatives of Greece in European competitions.
But AEK recently, in 2018, played with Dynamo in the knockout stages of the Europa League. The teams drew 1: 1 in Hellas, and then 0: 0 in Ukraine, respectively, the Kievites then passed on to the Athenians. However, in the next round they were eliminated from Lazio.
AEK never saw the Ukrainians again.
REFERENCE COMPOSITION
The main defeat for the guests in the match at the “Slavutich-Arena” will be the absence of the head coach, who remained in Greece and fell with a fever. Most likely they will not play for AEK Almpanis, Sardelis, García, Shimansky and Simoesh. But Ukrainian legionnaire Dmitry Chygrynskiy, who will most likely enter the field in the starting lineup, has recovered. We also hope to see Evgeny Shakhov at the beginning. In Zorya, Kozakov and Grechkin are injured, but Gromov and Makharadze are improving. Gromov could enter as a substitute and strengthen the team in the second half.
Zarya: Shevchenko – Favorov, Vernidub, Abu Khanna, Khomchenovsky – Ivanisenya – Yurchenko, Kochergin – Nazarina – Lunev, Kabaev.
AEC: Tsintotas – Insua, Nedelcharu, Chigrinsky, Bakakis – Shakhov, Krsticich – Vasilantonopoulos, Mantolos, Lopesh – Oliveira.
FORECAST
It goes without saying that a banal but true sentence is suggested here: when will Zarya win, if not in a home game with AEK. These teams are roughly the same in class, let’s remember that in the draw, the Luhansk team was in the fourth basket, the Athenians were in the third. Skripnik’s team has high potential, only the fatigue or underestimation of the opponent can prevent the hosts from hitting the guests. There is no doubt that both teams will score, there is reason to believe that the Whites-Blacks will score one more goal. Prediction: Zorya will win 2: 1.
