Belgian side Royal Antwerp carry a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off against Greek club AEK Athens at the Agia Sophia Stadium on Wednesday.
Vincent Janssen scored the only goal of the game in Belgium last week, while the hosts played the majority of the second half with 10 men following Jelle Bataille’s 50th-minute red card.
Το πρόγραμμα της παραμονής του αγώνα με την Αντβέρπ#aekant #aekfc #aekfcseason2023_2024 #UCL pic.twitter.com/SKIsAX60gh— AEK F.C. (@AEK_FC_OFFICIAL) August 28, 2023
Το πρόγραμμα της παραμονής του αγώνα με την Αντβέρπ#aekant #aekfc #aekfcseason2023_2024 #UCL pic.twitter.com/SKIsAX60gh
Despite racking up 65% possession and 23 shots, AEK Athens failed to win a way through Royal Antwerp’s stubborn defence.
AEK Athens head into the second leg on the back of a 1-1 draw with Panserraikos in the first Greek Super League match of the season.
Although AEK registered a whopping 36 shots while enjoying 82% of the ball, they were unable to claim all three points after going behind in the opening minute of the match.
AEK Athens had to overcome Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb in the previous round of Champions League qualifying, claiming a 4-3 aggregate victory.
As a result, the Greek outfit have recorded one win, two draws and one loss in all competitions this term, so they will be eager to establish some consistency.
On the flip side, Royal Antwerp have recorded three wins, one draw and one loss this season, in addition to a penalty shootout win over KV Mechelen in the Belgian Super Cup.
After kicking off their campaign with a 1-0 victory against Cercle Brugge, Antwerp suffered a 1-0 defeat to Anderlecht before thrashing Kortrijk 6-0.
Following a 1-1 draw with Leuven, Antwerp notched a precious 1-0 advantage over AEK Athens last time out, despite find themselves on the back foot for much of the match.
Believe it or not, Royal Antwerp’s only previous appearance in Europe’s premier club competition came during the 1957-58 edition of the European Cup.
Head-to-head: Funnily enough, AEK Athens and Royal Antwerp met in a friendly back in July, with the Greek side winning 3-0 on that occasion.
Across all competitions – including friendlies – AEK Athens have won two of the three previous meetings between the teams.
Team news: AEK Athens will be without Paolo Fernandes on Wednesday as the Spanish forward continues to nurse an Achilles tendon problem.
Royal Antwerp’s injury list contains Kobe Corbanie, Ortwin De Wolf, Bjorn Engels and Davino Verhulst, while Jelle Bataille is suspended following his red card in the first leg.
AEK Athens will need to throw everything at Royal Antwerp on Wednesday, but the hosts could struggle to break down the visitors.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Royal Antwerp will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to dispatching AEK Athens.