AEK Athens vs. LASK Linz - prediction, team news, lineups

Two clubs successful Pot 4 look disconnected for their league signifier opener successful the Champions League connected Tuesday, arsenic AEK Athens play big to LASK Linz astatine AEK Arena.

Both teams came done the playoff circular to scope the continent's premier nine competition, with debutants LASK overturning a 3-0 first-leg shortage and 4-0 aggregate disadvantage to stun Celtic and scope the Champions League due for the archetypal time.

Match preview

While LASK are reaching this level of Champions League shot for the archetypal clip successful their history, AEK Athens are returning to the continent's top-tier nine contention for the archetypal clip successful astir a decade.

Marko Nikolic's men kept a brace of cleanable sheets against Levski Sofia successful the playoff round, scoring a stunning 4 times successful Athens to unafraid a 4-0 aggregate occurrence and instrumentality to the large clip successful Europe for the archetypal clip since the 2018-19 season.

Yet to suffer a crippled successful 90 minutes since the commencement of the caller campaign, the defending Greek champions person kept 4 cleanable sheets successful their 7 matches played crossed aggregate competitions truthful far, scoring 2 oregon much goals successful 5 of their fixtures.

Heading into Tuesday connected the backmost of a stunning 5-0 hammering of Aris astatine the weekend, beardown metrics successful some boxes basal them successful bully stead up of their instrumentality to the continent's apical competition.

With a league signifier tally including matches against Real Madrid and Manchester City arsenic good arsenic encounters with Roma and Borussia Dortmund, Enosi volition beryllium hoping to commencement powerfully astatine LASK's expense.

Unlike their hosts, the Austrian champions needed thing resembling a occurrence to defy the likelihood and scope this signifier successful Europe's premier nine contention for the archetypal time.

Losing 3-0 astatine Celtic Park was atrocious enough, but Dietmar Kuhbauer's broadside recovered themselves 1-0 down connected the nighttime connected location ungraded and 4-0 down connected aggregate earlier Moses Usor levelled earlier the break.

Still trailing 4-1 connected aggregate, Die Laskler needed to people 3 times without reply to unit other time, and that was precisely what the Black-Whites achieved successful Linz earlier Samuel Adeniran netted a victor successful the 109th infinitesimal to unafraid the victory.

It was nary little than LASK deserved connected a nighttime erstwhile they accumulated a staggering 10 large chances from 40 changeable attempts successful 120 minutes, and their reward was a archetypal quality successful the large time.

Kuhbauer's men person not fto up since they broke caller ground, notching 3 consecutive wins successful league and cupful and averaging 4 goals per lucifer aft Austrian Bundesliga wins implicit Altach (3-0), WAC (3-1) and an OFB Cup hammering of DSC (6-1).

Now, Die Laskler anticipation to transportation the aforesaid goalscoring signifier into Tuesday's travel to Athens up of a European debut that includes visits to Real Madrid, Sporting Lisbon and Bodo/Glimt.

AEK Athens signifier (all competitions):

LASK Linz signifier (all competitions):

Team News

While AEK person nary suspended players heading into Tuesday, the Greek giants are without the ineligible Dereck Kutesa, Frantzdy Pierrot, Martin Georgiev, Christos Alexiou and Hakim Sahabo, each of whom are not successful the squad for the league phase.

From those expected to play, Barnabas Varga and Luka Jovic marque up Enosi's starring attacking threats, with Varga scoring successful 4 consecutive games heading into this week's fixture, including a brace successful the 4-0 occurrence implicit Levski Sofia successful the playoff round.

As for the visitors, Christoph Lang is Die Laskler's starring goalscorer successful the league with 5 goals, but the guardant amazingly did not find the nett successful the roaring turnaround against Celtic a fortnight ago.

Instead, Samuel Adeniran, who netted two, and Usor, scorer and provider, were the Austrian outfit's heroes successful the stunning victory.

Ramiz Harakate is missing done a semipermanent genu wounded suffered successful July, portion Art Smakaj and Cheikne Kebe are ineligible.

AEK Athens imaginable starting lineup:

Strakosha; Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilios; Majer, Marin, Vitalis, Koita; Varga, Jovic

LASK Linz imaginable starting lineup:

Jungwirth; Mbuyamba, Tornich, Andrade; Jorgensen, Ljubicic, Bogarde, Horvath, Bello; Usor, Lang

We say: AEK Athens 3-1 LASK Linz

Although LASK Linz get afloat of assurance pursuing their miraculous turnaround against Celtic and a barrage of goals domestically, stepping into the hostile situation of AEK Arena represents a monumental leap successful class.

With Varga and Jovic successful deadly signifier and Enosi boasting a formidable antiaircraft grounds this term, the Greek heavyweights person the requisite prime to overwhelm the debutants and unafraid each 3 points.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.