Is Armando 'Hormiga' Gonzalez Playing Today vs. Kifisia?

Olympiacos head to the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium to lock horns against Kifisia in Matchday 9 of the Super League Greece. 

While the likes of Yusuf Yazici and first-choice striker Ayoub El Kaabi remain out with long-term injuries, head coach Imanol Alguacil will have to make a call for the sole forward position upfront in a 4-2-3-1 formation during the 31 October 2026 clash against Kifisia. Marius Mouandilmadji started the Greek Cup fixture versus Marko 1927 F.C. in the Red and Whites' last competitive match. However, to maintain their winning run in the league, Alguacil is set to choose between Armando 'Hormiga' Gonzalez and Roman Yaremchuk for the starting spot in attack.

Olympiacos' last match against Marko ended in a 2-0 victory with goals from defenders Manolis Saliakas and David Carmo sealing the deal to keep the Piraeus giants unbeaten in the tournament. 

The Basque manager has already claimed that despite a thick run of fixtures coming up, especially against Stade Rennais in the UEFA Europa League and PAOK in the Super League Greece, their priority focus is on the game with Kifisia. Gonzalez netted the decider to score three points for Olympiacos in the Europa League. While Alguacil handed him a start in the 5-0 win over Kalamata, the Mexican starlet failed to score. 

He was not expected to feature in the Marko game, as the gaffer will require his best men fit for the upcoming clashes. Yaremchuk has not started a match in a while now and he is firm contention to start against Kifisia, but Gonzalez holds a much better case for a presence in the starting eleven. 

Since joining Olympiacos earlier this summer from Mexican Clausura side Chivas de Guadalajara, La Hormiga has featured in 14 matches, scoring five goals and registering two assists across all competitions. He is yet to open his goalscoring account in the Greek top flight, but he has already netted three goals in the Greek Cup (recording his two assists in the same tournament) and two crucial goals in European competition.

If he gets benched in the game versus Kifisia, Gonzalez should start the matches against Stade Rennais in France and the derby with PAOK. Alguacil's plan in this case would be safeguard the fitness of the 23-year-old for bigger matches instead of giving him a chance to find his goalscoring footing in the league for now.

The starting line-up is set to be published soon and that will clear up the forecast.