AEK Athens and LASK Linz opened their Champions League league-phase campaigns against each other. Both clubs reached the competition via the play-offs: AEK comfortably disposed of Levski Sofia (4-0 aggregate), while LASK produced one of the shocks of the qualifying rounds by overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit against Celtic, winning 5-1 at home to advance 5-4 on aggregate.

Form Snapshot

• AEK Athens: Strong domestic form and solid European progress. Unbeaten in recent matches, scoring freely at home.
• LASK Linz: Excellent recent run (multiple wins in the Austrian Bundesliga and the dramatic Celtic comeback). High-scoring side but making their Champions League league-phase debut.

This was the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.

Team News

AEK Athens
No major suspensions. Several players were ineligible for the league phase (Dereck Kutesa, Frantzdy Pierrot and others). Expected strong XI featuring Thomas Strakosha in goal, with Lovro Majer, Răzvan Marin and attackers such as Luka Jović / Barnabás Varga.

LASK Linz
Missing Ramiz Harakate (long-term knee injury) and some ineligible players. Samuel Adeniran was also reported unavailable in some previews. Moses Usor and Christoph Lang were key attacking options.

Predicted Lineups (pre-match)

• AEK Athens (4-4-2): Strakosha; Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilios; Majer, Marin, Vitalis, Koita/Gaćinović; Varga, Jović
• LASK (3-4-1-2): Jungwirth; Mbuyamba, Tornich/Alemão, Andrade; Jørgensen, Ljubičić, Bogarde, Bello; Horvath; Usor, Lang

Prediction

AEK Athens 2-1 LASK Linz

AEK’s home advantage, greater European experience and solid recent form made them favourites. LASK’s attacking threat (especially after the Celtic heroics) meant they were capable of scoring, but the hostile atmosphere at the OPAP Arena was expected to prove decisive for the Greek side in their league-phase opener.