A Tough Battle Ahead for Alguacil: Stade Rennais and PAOK Can Wait

Media outlet Sport24.gr reported that the Olympiacos environment is currently focusing on their next opponent in the league, Kifisia FC, more than they are on their European tie with Rennes and the derby with PAOK.

Basque manager Imanol Alguacil, ever since he joined Piraeus, has led the team through a very successful run during this initial stage of the season. As Sport24.gr noted, “Imanol Alguacil has seen Olympiacos “run” an excellent 8-0 streak.” The report also mentioned that the team has impressed on both the attacking and the defensive fronts, having scored 15 goals across all competitions, and also having kept 7 straight clean sheets.

A challenging run of games awaits Alguacil’s men, however, before they face Rennes and PAOK, Olympiacos have to break down another fortress, Kifisia FC. The two clubs will meet in a Super League Greece fixture on Saturday. 

The team, nicknamed “The Blue-Whites”, has been somewhat of a thorn in the flesh for Thrylos. During their last 3 meetings, although the Red and Whites have been unbeaten with one draw and two wins, none of the performances has been what is called a ‘statement performance’; Olympiacos has been unable to keep a clean sheet in any of the fixtures, and their attack in these games has also underperformed, requiring penalties and last-minute goals to register victories.

The impressive performances of the Kifisia players in these games is a consequence of their ability to defend effectively and stop attackers from creating threats. 

The manager also knows that the game against Kifisia is a tough one, and any relaxation on part of the players may put hurdles in the path of maintaining a winning streak and cause significant trouble. Alguacil was quoted as saying after the victory over Marko, “We were serious and consistent and managed to get the eighth consecutive victory without conceding a goal. But I will tell you again that all of this is now in the past and we are now looking forward to the future.”

A win registered against Kifisia FC with a statement performance will be very important in boosting the morale of the players and putting them in high spirits before they enter the run of matches that includes European fixtures and derbies. Both the players and the manager will want to win, and the fans will definitely rally behind their team come Saturday.