Pineda injured, Ponce with a muscle problem, Araujo with a difficult problem, but AEK for qualification

Matias Almeida is learned and used to setbacks, but he never invokes them. Finally, part of his coaching philosophy is the rule that he is committed not to discussing the team’s problems, but even to hiding them if possible, as, in his opinion, this helps the team to work less intrusively and more safely when faced with such difficulties that AEK is facing the really big game against Ajax this evening (December 14th, 10 p.m., COSMOTE SPORT 6 HD, LIVE Sportish).

As in all previous cases, here in cloudy, cold and rainy Amsterdam, the coach keeps his heart warm and his burning desire to lead AEK to a result that will ensure their European survival. My information says that in one of the recent training sessions he lowered his head for a moment, obviously upset by the events of the last few days, but it was only for a moment!

Almeida is not the coach who, even in the face of such big problems, would allow himself to make his players feel like they can bend to anything that can happen in football. Instead, with a smile and a lot of work, he began drawing up an alternative football plan to the one he would present if some – or all – very important players were missing from today’s European final against Ajax.

So without Orbelin Pineda, who was injured in a duel with Mukudi in training, without Ponce, who is struggling with a muscle problem and without captain Araujo, who made a big effort to even play this game before it was decided whether he would be eliminated Once again he had to undergo micro-surgery to correct a problem in his leg.

Chino, who always tries to overcome himself in such situations, sometimes even at the expense of the situation he is faced with, could not make another breakthrough to be here.

Five failures and two question marks

Add in the aforementioned absentees, the injured Stankovic and the suspended Gacinovic, and it’s easy to see that, apart from their starting goalkeeper and their in-form goalkeeper, Union are facing big problems in the latter part of the pitch.

It should also be taken into account that Jonsson has just returned from a muscle injury and may not be ready to get much playing time, while Levi Garcia has been playing for a month now and has already struggled with difficult problems three times this season. Therefore, no one can know in advance how they will react to a game with such high tempo, pressure and demands.

The beans appear to be measured. Athanasiadis will be under the posts and the defensive four will consist of Sidibe (or Rota), Vida, Mukudi and Hadjisafi. Logic says Simanski and Galanopoulos will start as a duo ahead of them in midfield. Zuber is expected to move to the left, Amrabad to the right and Petros Mandalos, who will be at the forefront of the attack, will move behind Garcia.

Now, if the coach decides that Levia is not ready to take a place in the starting XI, Zuber will go to the front and one of Eliasson or Pizarro will start on the left side.