AEK Athens vs Celje – News and Probable Lineups

On Thursday evening, AEK Athens will welcome Celje for the second leg of their last 16 Europa Conference League tie, aiming to comfortably secure their passage to the quarter-finals.

After their impressive 4-0 victory in Slovenia, the Greek side will look forward to an easy night at Agia Sophia Stadium.

Match overview

While teams like Crystal Palace and Strasbourg are being mentioned as favorites in this tournament, AEK Athens have been steadily progressing under the radar.

Since the outset of the League Phase, the Greek club has achieved five wins, one draw, and one defeat, with that loss ironically coming against Celje in their opening match.

In addition to defeating teams like Fiorentina and Samsunspor during this period, Marko Nicolic’s squad convincingly beat Celje in the first leg of their last-16 match last week.

By the 49th minute, AEK Athens had already built a 4-0 lead and could have increased their tally had they not opted to rest some players in the concluding stages of the match. They are currently set to face either Samsunspor or Rayo Vallecano in the next round.

Nicolic’s squad remains undefeated in their last 10 matches (W6 D4) across all tournaments, and they are currently involved in a three-way tie for the top position in the Greek Super League standings.

Celje, having advanced to the quarter-finals of this tournament in 2024-25, would have had high hopes for a similar performance this time around.

Nonetheless, despite finishing in 13th place during the League Phase, the Slovenian team is primarily focused on domestic matters unless a remarkable comeback occurs in European competition.

They have recorded four wins and four losses in their last eight matches across all competitions, with their 1-0 victory against 10-man Koper on Sunday breaking a three-match losing streak.

This was Vitor Campelos’ first game in charge, having been appointed late last week. Celje currently sits seven points clear at the summit of the Prva Liga table, still on track to reclaim the title that slipped away with a fourth-place finish last season.

In their last six Conference League matches, Celje has secured just two victories, both against Kosovan club Drita in the playoff stage, winning 3-2 each time.

Team News

AEK Athens will have no players suspended for this matchup, although six players will miss the next game if they receive a booking during this fixture.

This means that Luka Jovic, Petros Mantalos, Razvan Marin, Orbelin Pineda, Lazaros Rota, and Domagoj Vida might be kept on the bench as a precaution.

Players like James Penrice, Roberto Pereyra, and Zini are likely to be given chances to play in full-back, central midfield, and attacking roles respectively.

On the other hand, Celje head coach Campelos may seek to maintain some consistency after a formation change led to a crucial league victory on Sunday.

However, goalkeeper Zan Luk Leban might return to the starting position after having replaced Luka Kolar early in the match against Koper.

Ivan Calusic, Andrej Kotnik, and Papa Daniel could also be brought in to refresh the midfield.

AEK Athens probable starting XI:

Strakosha; Penrice, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilios; Gacinovic, Pereyra, Marin, Coita; Zini, Varga

Celje probable starting XI:

Lebanon; Nieto, Hrka, Karnicnik, Tutyskinas; Calusic; Avdyli, Daniel, Kvesic, Iosifov; Kucys

While it might be understandable for AEK to make several adjustments for this fixture, it might not significantly impact the outcome. Celje will be playing for pride, but a routine victory for the Greek side is anticipated.