That’s where the title is decided, that’s what your team does in derbies

The regular season of the Stoiximan Super League is over and Sportish has stayed true to its vocation. On Wednesday, the ultimate league breakdown was released via Opta/Stats Perform data.

You saw everything in her. The performances of the teams in defense and attack, what the Big-5 did and how the tables were made, the characteristics of the teams with and without the ball, the top players but also how Panathinaikos, AEK, Olympiacos, PAOK in this one Year and Aris have performed compared to their previous two seasons.

We’ve put everything on the plate for you, in as much detail as possible. But there is also a “but”. That said, what’s seen in the analysis so far relates to how the teams got here.

But ahead of us are the playoffs, which will decide in an unrepeatable fight for the title. And in the playoffs, the greats will go head-to-head, they’ll fight for first place in a derby.

So someone will be right when they say “It’s nice what such and such a team does in the league, but they don’t count now, it depends on what they do in derbies, that’s where everything is decided. Does the and the team keep their performance in derbies or does it? does he only do that with the little ones? The team that has this problem, does it have it in derbies or does it fix it there?

Right, let’s do it. Let’s see what they do Panathinaikos, AEK, Olympiacos, PAOK and Aris in this year’s championship, but also what they have achieved in the eight derbies they have played so far.

The derby picture in attack…

We start with the expected goals and attack. The blue bars show the teams’ average in the regular season and the red bars their performance in the eight derbies played so far.

It goes without saying that the teams in derbies appear less threatening, but the standings remain the same. AEK is also the top attacking threat team in the derbies and the only one with an average over 1.0 xGoals.

Olympiacos, PAOK Panathinaikos and Aris follow but have a bigger ‘threat loss’ in the derby.

… and in defense

We continue with the same look at xGoals Against, i.e. the threat facing teams. The blue bars show the teams’ average in the regular season and the red bars their performance in the eight derbies played so far.

And here the same order of precedence remains. Obviously all teams are more threatened in derbies, but AEK is the one that has changed the least from the other greats.

Almeida’s team goes from 0.41 to 0.56. In derbies, Union threatens less than the 0.59 that Olympiakos has in the league.

How high do they play in derbies?

We’re leaving xGoals and moving on to how teams play. We’ll start with the average starting height of ball possession, which is how high teams play.

It goes without saying that everyone on the field falls lower. But AEK is the one who puts less water in their wine, the team that loses less than a meter on the field when playing a derby.

The Eternals have the biggest “recession”, Olympiakos “lose” three meters and Panathinaikos another two.

Possession with 10+ passes and build-up attack

Moving on to 10+ possession, ie how often the Big 5 teams change the ball 10 or more times and how often they do it in derbies.

Olympiacos are the team that has the most possession in the league, but in derbies Mitchell’s team are behind Panathinaikos and Aris, just ahead of PAOK and AEK.

The build-up attacks continue. That is, the times when a team plays 10 or more passes and thus achieves a final or even an energy in the opponent’s area.

Olympiacos can lose first place in possession with 10+ passes, but when attacking in this way, the red-whites are first in derbies too.

The case of Panathinaikos is remarkable. Jovanovic’s side is second in the league in attack build-up, but in derbies it drops from 2.8 to 0.4, even under AEK, who are below average anyway because that’s not how they play.

Direct Attacks

Let’s move on to the direct attacks. In other words, the times when a team starts from its own half of the field and reaches a final or an energy in the opposing area vertically, with a long pass or a quick change.

AEK is by far first in direct attack in the league, but Almeida’s team are increasing their performance in derbies, going from 2.3 to 2.5.

Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are 4th and 5th in the league, but in the derby they rise to 2nd and 3rd as they don’t have the drop that PAOK and Aris have.

How much territory do they step into in derbies?

Let’s see where this all ends. In the action of the region’s Big 5 teams in the league and derbies.

AEK maintains its lead and actually manages to cover almost as much territory as PAOK and more than the midfielders in the derbies in all games Championship conditions of Panathinaikos and Aris.

There is a problem here for Panathinaikos as the lead in derbies falls to just 11.4 actions in the area, of 22.7, which is their average.

The great opportunities

When it comes to big chances, we turn a blind eye to what the teams are doing with the ball.

Everyone has a drop, but AEK and Olympiacos are the two teams who can say they retain the ability to create big chances even in derbies.

The fall of Aris, who has the same average as Panathinaikos in the league and has two (!) great chances in eight games in the derby, is dramatic.

How high do they press in derbies?

We’ll drop the ball and see what the Big 5 teams do without it. We start with the pressure high and the PPDA.

PPDA measures how many passes the opponent makes in their own half and in the center before a team “intervenes” with defends, steals, fouls, duels, etc.

Essentially The lower a team’s PPDA, the more it moves up the field. The blue bars are the teams in the league and The Reds in the derby.

AEK pushes the pitch almost as high in derbies as it does in all games. PAOK and Olympiacos become “more passive” and thus Panathinaikos has the second pressure in derbies.

Possessions that allow and attack with construction

Moving on to possessions with 10 or more passes, the Big 5 teams “allow” their opponents. in the league and derbies.

AEK keeps the lead by a wide margin thanks to their intense pressure, while of the other big four only Panathinaikos gives up seven such possessions in the derby.

The build-up attacks continue. So the times when a team allows the opponent 10 or more passes and thus reaches the final or even the energy in their area.

Nevertheless, AEK succeeds and improves its performance in the derbies, since Union only received one (!) build-up attack in the eight derbies contested.

That Panathinaikos “climbs” to the worst position of the Big-5 in derbies is worrying.

The direct attacks they receive

Let’s move on to the direct attacks they receive the Big 5 teams in the league and derbies.

Olympiacos have received the fewest in the league, but in derbies it jumps from 0.9 to 1.4, the Big-5’s worst performance, above AEK and PAOK.

On the contrary, Panathinaikos and AEK are improving their performances in derbies.

The actions in their area and the great opportunities of the opponents

We move into the area, let’s see how many actions are received in it the Big 5 teams in the league and derbies.

AEK and Olympiacos claim the top spots, with the Red-Whites having a bigger climb.

Panathinaikos has a problem, because in the derbies they concede by far the worst performance of the majors with 18.3 actions in their territory.

And we close with the great possibilities received by the Big 5 teams in the league and derbies.

PAOK even narrowly steals first place from Panathinaikos, while AEK has a problem as they doubled their chances in derbies and only received Aris less.

Olympiacos, who have been the worst performers in the league, is interesting, but in derbies only PAOK have conceded fewer chances.