APOEL will head into tonight’s big Nicosia derby against Omonia knowing failure to beat their struggling rivals could seriously dent their title hopes this season.
Giorgos Donis’ men have been in emphatic form since January following an uncharacteristically poor start to the season under former coach Paulo Sergio. The arrivals of impressive playmaker Tomas de Vincenti (photo) and Brazilian forward Cesar Santin in the January window have made the Cypriot title holders the favourites to reclaim their trophy this season despite trailing league leaders AEL by a single point heading in the final round of the normal season.
Once the 14-team normal season finishes tonight in which two will be relegated into the second division, the remaining 12 teams will split into two groups with the top group to contest the league title and European places while the bottom group will see the teams finishing in the last two places get relegated.
The island’s other realistic title challengers Apollon will also be looking to keep up the pace against an Aris side desperately looking for a win of their own to avoid the nightmare scenario of being relegated. Leaders AEL will be in Paphos in action against AEK Kouklia.
But it is Nicosia that will be turning most heads as APOEL face a fierce test against a struggling Omonia side who are currently scrambling to raise over €1 million to pass this month’s UEFA financial criteria so they can play in Europe next season.
Currently fifth, the Nicosia Greens recently appointed former captain Costas Kaiafas as coach following failed attempts this season under Toni Savevski and Miguel Lotina and he made his debut in the dugout in a 1-1 draw at Ermis Aradippou.
Newly appointed APOEL press officer Nektarios Petevinos says it was vital that his team do not begin looking too far ahead because of their blistering run in the second half of the season which continued with a routine 2-0 win over Ethnikos Achnas on Saturday.
“We only look at the next game,” he said. “We know we have 10 really tough games to follow. A good result [against Omonia] is very important for us. But we are looking to win this game, get the three points and move closer towards our target.”
Donis welcomes back De Vincenti and Stathis Aloneftis who both missed the win over Ethnikos as well as Nuno Morais who also missed the game through suspension.
His counterpart Kaiafas is sweating on the fitness of key players Nunos Assis and Joao Paulo.
“It’s easy to see that the team is growing in confidence,” continued Petevinos.
“The results are coming our way but the fact remains that APOEL is one point off the summit. This means we cannot afford any slip-ups.”