UEFA Cup Group C: AEK Athens vs. Villarreal

Villarreal travel to Greece in this last group stage match of the UEFA cup to take on AEK Athens. Three points will make certain the Spanish side win the group and so avoid the more difficult teams in the next round, but this match won’t be as easy as their last UEFA outing when they beat Elfsborg. Group C is wide open going into this last week, with four of the five teams still in with a chance to qualify. Czech side M. Boleslav has the hardest task though, needing to beat Fiorentina away to grab a place in the last thirty two.  

AEK Athens are currently third in Group C and two points behind leaders Villarreal. In their domestic league they are heading the table with the same points as Olympiacos, who beat them at the weekend, ending AEK’s five match unbeaten run. Villarreal got a precious away win to fellow UEFA cup contenders Getafe by three goals to one and ended their run of three domestic games without a win. More good news for Villarreal came when Turkish striker scored twice in the game, proving that he is at his best level again after having problems with injuries. The ‘yellow submarine’ can also travel to Greece knowing that they don’t have any serious injury problems and after next weekend’s league game against Recreativo de Huelva, can look forward to some days off as there aren’t any matches during the Christmas period in Spain.

AEK Athens coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer knows a lot about Spanish football and Villarreal, having been in charge of Mallorca, Betis and Barcelona. When he became coach of AEK he took some Spanish players with him, most notably ex Villarreal defender Rodolfo Arruabarrena. The Spaniard now faces his old companions for the first time in this difficult game.

This match is going to be very hard to predict. Both sides are qualified, but both also know how important it is to finish top of the group. I’m going for a home win here; winning in Greece is never easy, especially against this Athens side who really deserve to win something for their fans and come out of the shadow of  Olympiacos.

Prediction: Home win (2-1)