The Greek Cup is in full swing, and for the third matchday of the League Phase, PAOK travels to Athens and Peristeri to face Atromitos on Wednesday night (September 16).
Alessio Lisi’s team aims to come away with the win to celebrate its first three points in the competition, while on the other side, Dusan Kerkez wants to see his team go 2-for-2, and wants them to be competitive, taking advantage of their home-field advantage and the momentum of the tournament, with the goal of advancing to the next round.
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The Peristeri side had reason to smile in their Cup opener, prevailing—albeit with difficulty— in Serres against Panserraikos 1-0, getting off to a good start in the tournament. Their subsequent performance in the league, however, was less than ideal, as they recorded two consecutive draws against the newly promoted teams that made their debut this year in the top tier of Greek soccer. Both at home against Kalamata and in Thessaloniki against Heraklis, the score was the same: 1-1.
Christopher Nunes will be absent from the Bosnian coach’s lineup as he continues his rehabilitation program. Giorgos Tzovaras has also been ruled out after suffering a calf injury during Sunday’s practice. The Greek star will not be available for the upcoming match against Kifissia either.
On the other hand, Petros Tsagdis was included in the first-team roster for the first time after signing his first professional contract.
Here is the full Atromitos roster:
Athanasiou, Houtesiotis, Dieng, Lyratzis, Moundes, Papadopoulos, Uronen, Magnusson, Mitoglou, Stavropoulos, Tsagdis, Tsakmakis, Karamanis, Kotsis, Moutousami, Tsigaras, Batos, Serginio, Pneumonidis, Tsouber, Perea, Tsantilas, Tsiloulis.
On the other side, PAOK is riding a bit of a morale boost, perhaps for the first time this season. The “black-and-whites” are coming off a crucial victory against Aris (2-0), in the big Thessaloniki derby, and are now looking to the future with greater optimism.
The Cup opener didn’t go as Lisi had hoped, as he saw his team draw 0-0 at home against OFI, and he’s clearly looking to make up for it now in Peristeri. After all, they’ve done it before: in the second matchday of the Stoiximan Super League, PAOK came away unscathed from that very stadium, winning 2-1.
On the roster front, Jiri Pavlenka has been left out of the squad as a precaution, while Simon Banja—who is still not ready—was also left off the list.
Meite, Giannoulis, Sarris, and Tsalov remain sidelined as they undergo treatment, while Despodov, Lousé, and Hatzidiakos continued their individual training regimens and are also not being considered by Alesio Lisi.
The six Greek players who meet the eligibility requirements for the tournament are Monastirlis, Nikolakoulis, Kosidis, Bataoulas, Mythou, and Hatzidis.
Here is the PAOK roster in detail:
Tsiftsis, Monastirlis, Nikolakoulis, Kenny, Kosidis, Kosta, Elustondo, Michailidis, Bataoulas, Baba, Taylor, Santamaria, Jakić, Zafeiris, Kamara, Ugrecic, Pelkas, Soretire, Tyson, Ali, Zivkovic, Hatzidis, N’Diaye, Mythou.
Probable Starting Lineups:
Atromitos (N. Kerkez): Houtesiotis, Papadopoulos, Magnusson, Stavropoulos, Lyratzis, Moutousami, Kotsis, Batos, Pneumonidis, Karamanis, Tsantilas
PAOK (A. Lisi): Tsiftsis, Kenny, Bataoulas, Michailidis, Baba, Santamaria, Taylor, Zivkovic, Ugrecic, Tyson, Mythou
*photo source: KYPE
