Original 21

We need a win before the derby next week. We struggle to get goals in away games and Iraklis is a really bad team, so we need to come out with an attacking lineup. I'd go with: Barkas Galo Vranjes Labropoulos Didac Adjarevic Galanopoulos Lazaros Mantalos Vargas Araujo I would rest Simoes and Johanson for the Olympiakos game, we've been playing two games a week for a month now so everyone can use some rest and we finally have some depth for them. I would also consider resting Mantalos and Araujo for Bakasetas and Pekhart, but both might be overkill.

Diaz the left back? Not sure, but does it really matter? He did not play when we only had Didac in front of him, and now with Vinicius, he's never going to play.

I'm not gonna get too excited because under Morais we beat Levadiakos 4-0 and had 22 shots on net. But, it's a great sign. Dikefale how does this remind you of the AEK team from last year? we didn't dominate anyone like this last year, maybe in B ethniki.

Don't expect him to start or play any time soon, he hasn't played a professional game since May when he was on loan to a team in Switzerland, that team was relegated as well. Either way, Didac has gotten much better under Jimenez which is a good sign. Hopefully Vinicius can prove to be good, but I'm not expecting really anything out of him until next season.

We were basically playing with 9, Mantalos was non-existant. Also, Adjarevic played very well, he's really slow but his left foot is magically on set pieces.

Labropoulos missed a huge chance to score... 0-0 87th minute

Las Palmas officially announced the 18 month loan of Sergio Araujo to us. By far the biggest signing we've made in a very long time, he was a starter in La Liga and is only 24 years old. If he does half of what he's capable of on the field, we can save our season easily.

Barbosa has informed AEK that he wants to come back, if Manolo agrees to his return we should 100% sign him.

1-0 win for us. Fantastic assist by Melkiotis on a goal by Bakasetas.

Injury I think^^

Early reports say he will be with us on loan for 18 months and there is a buyout clause at the end of it to make the deal permanent. We are paying him 1.2 Million euros over the next year and a half, and a small loan fee to Las Palmas. Unless something ridiculous happens, we have just gotten a great player.

He's exactly the kind of striker we need. Unlike Pekhart and Almeida, he doesn't need the midfield to create chances for him, and he is useful outside of the box as well. He can create chances on his own; he has good speed, good technical ability, and most importantly, he is only 24 years old. We offered to take him on loan for 18 months and a buyout option at the end of it, he wants to come, and according to all reports, all that is left is for Las Palmas to finalize the signing of his replacement. Hopefully that aren't wrong, and Melissanidis actually gives some money. He had fallen out with Las Palmas a few days ago after he was seen drinking. He also had a DUI in Septemeber, so this would be his last chance to save his career. That also means that he's in shape to play since he hasn't been off for a long time. Hopefully he comes determined to prove himself because he can potentially be the best player in the Super League, assuming he stays away from alcohol. We have one week to complete the Araujo signing, but we also need at least one more signing. This team really needs a left back that has similar skills as Galo. Didac last year was a good defender, but this year his defensive performances have dipped. At the same time, he is horrible in attack and is a waste of space. He can stay on as a backup, but if we replace him with someone like Galo then we become instantly better as a team, plus Almeida and Pekhart will become more significant because we would have another player that can play a good cross into them, and exploit their skill set. We also need another winger for depth, but with re-emergence of Vargas and the improvement of Lazaros, it's not a huge priority, it would just be nice to have. Ideally, we bring back Barbosa, he would actually be perfect for this team off of the bench to provide a spark with his speed, plus, he knows the team and can score.

7th Super Bowl Appearance in 16 years in the salary cap era. Unbelievable achievement. As for the game, Atlanta is the only team that has enough weapons to keep with us on offense and give our defense trouble. Matty Ice is filthy this year, they have the best Running Back Duo in the league, and Julio Jones is a baller. I'm more than confident that Bill and Patricia will come up with the perfect game plan to slow down that high powered offense. It will come down to how Malcolm Butler does up against Julio Jones. Atlanta's defense is very underrated, they are very well-coached and have a lot of playmakers like Vic Beasly. However, I don't think that they can slow Brady and the offense down that much, especially if we can get the running game going to open up some play action plays.

Where was this effort from our players all season??? All of a sudden Johanson, Didac, and Lazaros become the players that we expected them to be. This season could have been completely different if they played like this in all of the home games. Anyways, a good performance for the first time in a month, and we need to build momentum to make the playoffs and make a cup run. Pekhart has now proven to me that when given enough time to get comfortable, he can be relied on to score. Hopefully he keeps it up when the new striker comes, and hopefully Almeida can just stay healthy and play a few games like he did on Wednesday.

The gap is only 8 points between first and second place guys; I don't remember it being this close halfway through the season in a few years. Give Xanthi some credit.