AEK Athens vs LASK Preview: Team News & Prediction | 2026-27 UEFA Champions League | League Phase
by Alex Lawes ·
Greek champions AEK Athens are back in the UEFA Champions League as they welcome a LASK side that produced an immense comeback in the play-off round.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / USA – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – HBO Max / USA – Paramount+
AEK Athens preview: UCL back in Athens
AEK Athens are back in the league or group phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2018-19 season. They won their 14th Greek Super League title in the first season following the appointment of former CSKA Moscow boss Marko Nikolic.
The Athenians were impressive in the play-off round as they demolished Levski Sofia by four goals to nil in the second-leg in the capital city, with Luka Jovic and Razvan Marin scoring either side of a brace from Barnabas Varga.
LASK preview: Competitive LASK
LASK head into the league phase of the UEFA Champions League on the back of an impressive come from behind defeat of Celtic in Austria, having been 4-0 down on aggregate against the Scots with an hour left of the tie.
LASK have not made it through to the group or league phase of the UEFA Champions League before but have managed to do so this time around as Austrian champions for the second time ever and the first time since 1965.
AEK Athens team news: Fully fit
It appears as though AEK have a fully fit and available squad for this week and so will be able to name an unchanged eleven that is built around a strong attack in a 4-4-2 shape.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Strakosha; Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilios; Majer, Marin, Kairinen, Koita; Varga, Jovic
Unavailable:
Questionable:
LASK team news: Harakate out
LASK have one injury absentee this week with Ramiz Harakate unavailable. Moses Usor will expect to be key here while Robert Ljubicic is available to face parent club AEK.
Predicted XI (3-5-2): Jungwirth; Mbuyamba, Alemao, Andrade; Jorgensen, Ljubicic, Bogarde, Horvath, Bello; Usor, Adeniran
Unavailable: Harakate (Injured)
Questionable:
AEK Athens vs LASK prediction
AEK Athens have some very impressive players in the final third, such as the aforementioned Varga and Jovic, and they have an excellent opportunity to kick off their campaign on the front foot with home advantage. LASK, though, have some excellent players for the counter-attack, as they showed against Celtic, and both teams scoring would therefore appear a decent bet for this league phase opener at the OPAP Arena.
AEK Athens vs LASK Tip: Both teams to score
