Last season Apollon returned and proved that they had come back to stay. After a difficult season, they managed to secure their stay at the top table of Greek football through the Play Out process, without even being particularly stressed out about their fate in the final matches.

In the summer everything changed. Makis Chavos resigned from the head coach role and was replaced by Giannis Petrakis. On the squad front, 18 players left, while 11 new players came in. The names that stand out are La Parra, Nicolas Martinez and of course the experienced Bruno Alves, who came from Serie A to give quality and confidence to the team’s defence.

In the summer, the work done by the coaching staff and their results in pre-season friendlies, as well as the presence of Petrakis, seemed to create an atmosphere of optimism within the club. The reality, of course, turned out to be quite different.

The start of competitive action was marked by three heavy defeats, with 4-0 and 4-1 away losses to Panathinaikos and Olympiacos respectively, and a 3-1 home reverse against Volos. Those results led the club’s executive board to dismiss Petrakis and hire Gianluca Festa.

The Italian coach came in to try and correct the team’s defensive frailties, which he has managed to do in his first four games at the helm.

The Athenian team have collected five points from two draws and one victory, while conceding just one goal. With Festa in the dugout, Apollon has now found a new identity and they are expected to be a tough team to beat, a team that fight for every ball in every game.

The Italian coach, of course, will have to find more solutions in the offensive part of the team’;s game as they have scored only three goals this season, boasting the worst attack of the league along with Atromitos.

Apollon visit the Toumba with two important players missing. Bruno Alves and Vykintas Slivka did not manage to overcome their injury problems and have not traveled to Thessaloniki.