Atromitos vs Asteras Tripolis Prediction: Derby in the middle of the table

The winter break in the Greek championship is over, and this Sunday, we will see several great matches and big derbies. The match between Atromitos and Asteras T. will be one of the most interesting, as both teams are in the middle of the table with almost identical stats. Both want to start the second part of the season with a win over their great rival, but in my opinion, this will be a very difficult match for each of them. We can expect a tough and tight encounter between teams that are fighting for the upper part of the table.

Form: LDLLD

Atromitos ended the first part of the season with a heavy defeat against PAOK in Thessaloniki 3:0. It was their fourth consecutive match without a win, and the pressure is getting bigger on their manager Garcia. In that match against PAOK, Athanasiou got a red card, and Warda missed a penalty, so this holiday break was right on time for Atromitos. They are in eighth place with 19 points, five wins, four draws and seven defeats. At home, they have two wins, two draws, and four defeats. They aren’t very confident playing at home, they had a bad run of three defeats in a row in this stadium, and the facts are clear that without improvement in home matches, they can’t hope to finish in the Championship Group and fight for a spot in Europe.

Form: WWLLW

The situation isn’t any better in Asteras as well. They started this season well, but as the season went by their form dropped a lot. They had a streak of five defeats in a row, which they ended with a win in the Cup against Panionios, but more important for them is the win in the last round against Aris at home. Aris were the favorites in that match even though Asteras were playing at home, but in the end, Asteras managed to win after they were losing 1:0 at halftime. It certainly boosted their confidence. They are in ninth place with 19 points, five wins, four draws and seven defeats. As visitors, they have two wins, three draws, and three defeats.

I don’t expect a spectacular match with many goals between Atromitos and Asteras T. They both have a more defensive approach and it’s more important for them to defend their own goal than to score against the opponent. After the winter break, there might be some small tactical changes in both teams, as they are looking for more efficient games, but I think that neither of the managers will take a risk in the first match of the year, as the pressure is high in both teams, and bad result here might bring new changes inside the staff. In their last five matches, only two matches ended with BTTS and over 2.5 goals, which is why I expect a match with under 2.5 goals and I can’t see both teams scoring in this game. Also since both teams will take a more defensive approach to the match I expect a draw in the first half.