'AEK Cannot Afford Another Europa League Defeat'
- Leicester City travel to Greece to face AEK Athens on Thursday evening (5:55pm kick-off)
- The UEFA Europa League group stage fixture is set to be held at Athens Olympic Stadium
- AEK Athens will be desperate to get their first points of the campaign on the board, according to Gazzetta Greece journalist Dimitris Vergos
- He believes the Greece Super League outfit are battling with SC Braga for second place and qualification into the knockout stages of the competition
Defeat in their first group stage fixture leaves AEK third in the group, level with Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk, going into Thursday night's home game against Leicester City (5:55pm kick-off).
Vergos sees the visit of City as crucial to AEK's chances of progressing out of the group stage and into the knockout stages of the competition.
"I think after the 3-0 loss to Braga in Portugal, AEK have lost ground in order to have a chance of getting the second spot," Vergos admitted.
"Of course Leicester is the favourite for first place in the group and I have not seen Zorya, who Leicester beat in the first game, but I think on paper AEK and Braga are the two clubs that have the best chance to compete for second.
"It was disappointing because of the scoreline. It was a heavy defeat and I think 1-0 or 2-1 defeat would have been fair because AEK lost opportunities in the game.
"They had chances, they could even have been in front or equalised in the second-half. I think concentration from Braga's crosses is what AEK have to improve on a lot, because AEK's full-backs were not concentrating on that night.
"Also, some more losses in the middle of the park created opportunities for Braga on the counter and in the final third, finishing the chances they had that night - three for Nélson Oliveira, one for Nenad Krstičić from a set piece.
"When you make three or four chances away at Braga and you don't score a goal, you cannot expect more, so unfortunately this 3-0 defeat came in the end, but that's football."
Goals: Leicester City 3 Zorya Luhansk 0
Enjoy the goals from Leicester City's comprehensive UEFA Europa League victory over Zorya Luhansk on Thursday.
Following that result, Vergos believes the pressure has increased on the Greek club to take something from the game against the Foxes, which he says will be their most difficult task in the group stage. Leicester's 3-0 victory over Zorya last time out established their position as the early group leaders.
He continued: "AEK cannot suffer a second defeat, that's for sure. It remains to be seen the plan (manager) Massimo Carrera will follow. Either he will go with a defensive minded formation and option as he did against Braga, or he will try to have the possession and try to attack.
"Generally AEK, under Carerra, is a team that has fighting team spirit usually, because Carerra likes that, he likes to see closer lines in his defensive and he asks for his players to be concentrated 100 per cent from the very first moment of the game until the final whistle.
"And I think these are the key points for AEK in order to get a result against a Premier League club and they know that all the Premier League clubs are very, very tough to face."
AEK boast some exciting attacking talents within their ranks who could cause City problems, including last season's top goalscorer and Nélson Oliveira, as well as new signing Muamer Tanković - both of whom made appearances in the Premier League.
"You have to focus on the attack, where there are some really quality players like Oliveira, you may know him from his spells at Norwich and Nottingham Forest, I think English fans know him very well," Vergos added.
"There is also Marko Livaja, who usually plays on the left hand side of the attack, but he's a player who is a no.10 or a winger, so he can play out wide or behind the striker and he is very, very good. His quality is exceptional and with just one movement he can make the difference.
"And Petros Mantalos, he is a similar type of player, he can carry the ball and also provide help defensively. In the last few games, Yevhen Shakhov and Krstičić, the two midfielders, have provided a lot with their runs and their power in the middle of the park.
"There is a new player, Muamer Tanković, who also played in England years ago with Fulham. I don't know if he will start but he's a new face who just signed a couple of weeks ago from Hammarby and he's got quality as well."
All times GMT.