AEK Athens FC (Gre) vs Antwerp (Bel) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-08-29 19:00.
AEK Athens tested their squad depth by fielding a vastly inferior starting XI in their opening Greek Super League round at the weekend to the one that lost the first leg of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) play-off round tie 1-0 away to Royal Antwerp last week. But a surprising 1-1 draw at home to newly promoted Panserraikos is not only a missed opportunity for what should have been a routine three points, but it also leaves them on a winless run of three games heading into this second leg decider (D2, L1).
It was the fourth consecutive time that AEK sustained a 1-0 half-time deficit this season, and a repeat of that concerning pattern would leave them needing two second half goals to have any chance of progression. They’ll undoubtedly be keen to avoid another slow start, as they know it would all-but end their hopes of obtaining their first UCL group stage berth since 2018/19.
As their opponents demonstrated in Belgium last week, despite being a man down for almost the entirety of the second half, they’re not the kind of side to relinquish a lead easily, evidenced further by the fact it has been more than 15 months since Antwerp lost a match after opening the scoring. A whopping 60 competitive outings later, they’re now just one step from their first appearance in the group stage of Europe’s elite competition.
An “extremely happy” Mark van Bommel hailed his team as one that “never gives up” after they held out for that crucial first leg win, but this is likely to be a difficult task given they couldn’t secure a single away victory in their Europa League journey in 2021/22 (D2, L2). On a more positive note, Van Bommel will at least have a rejuvenated squad to choose from after their weekend league fixture was postponed to keep them fresh.
Players to watch: AEK substitute Sergio Araujo scored one of the two stoppage time goals that got them the home draw they needed to advance past Dinamo Zagreb in the last round. For the visitors, Vincent Janssen’s match winner in the previous leg was his third consecutive goal scoring appearance.
Hot stat: Only one of Antwerp’s six competitive matches this season produced more than 2.5 total goals.