The replacement of Croat Fran Jovic by elite Spaniard Carlos Del Tero Grande has acted as a relief valve and brought relative calm just before tomorrow’s all-important Panathinaikos-Olympiacos derby at Leoforos (sold out again).

The tone in both teams rose as soon as it became known that QED had failed to secure the presence of an elite foreign referee, only a top-notch one from the second-rate league, but the fire died down after Jovic was replaced by the Spanish. It is the Greek Clasico that this time decides a lot in the fight for the title, and not just prestige or something less important in terms of points, as it has been for at least 10 years.

If they win, the Greens will send Olympiacos to -6 and effectively take them out of contention for the title six games before the final. This is a match with the nature of the final for the Red-Whites, who decided to stay with José Anigo on the bench until the end of the season, regardless of the outcome of the derby.

AEK welcomes Aris and only wants a win to emerge victorious from (any) result in Leoforos. If in her previous games at Hagia Sophia she did not lose a single point, then in the last two games with Olympiakos – Panathinaikos she lost five points and took only one, so her reaction to an opponent who has a goal will be additional European interest.

After losing to Olympiacos last Wednesday in Faliro, PAOK dropped to -9 from above and effectively knocked out of the title and 2nd place, which also leads to the Champions League qualifiers. However, he is aiming for 3rd place in the Europa League, so he is motivated to welcome Volos to Toumba.

The appointment of an elite referee for tomorrow’s Leophoros derby has defused the tense atmosphere.

Brief schedule of play-off matches (4th round – 30th in total): SUNDAY: 18.00 AEK – Aris, 20.30 PAOK – Volos, 21.00 Panathinaikos – Olympiacos.

Tournament table (29 games): Panathinaikos 66, AEK 66, Olympiacos 63, PAOK 57, Aris 41, Volos 40.

In the Playoffs on Day 3 of PAS, Yanina is also in the battle for survival, as Lamia scored 23 points after a shock loss to OFI. In all four pairs of today’s program, the hosts do not have strong scoring motivation, unlike the guests, who are on fire.

Brief playoff schedule (3rd game day – 29th in total): SATURDAY: 17:00 Atromitos – PAS, 17:30 OFI – Lamia, 19:30 Asteras – Levadeiakos, 19:30 Panaitolikos – Ionikos.

Tournament table (28 games): Atromitos 33, OFI 30, Panaitolikos 29, Asteras Tripoli 28, Lamia 23, PAS Ioannina 23, Ionikos 21, Levadeikos 19.