OR Under welcomes the AEK (21.08.2025, 21:00) in Brussels, in the first matt of the two teams for the Conference League playoffs, and the host coach Besnik Hassi stood on the readiness of his players, while stressing that they should take advantage of their best pace.
“We need to be in the best possible form to be better than AEK. AEK is a team with experience and plenty of quality on the ball. They often play from the center with nearby combinations and create a lot of risk with their two fast, powerful strikers. Jovich later joined this summer, but was decisive immediately last weekend for his team. He is clearly a quality player, but we are not only focused on him, “the Anderlecht coach initially said.
“We always look at how we can cause the opponent, and especially their midfield is their main weapon. It is a good team with many international players, and we have to be at the top of our performance to be the best team.
We may have a little more pace, since we have already played more matches. We must use this to our advantage by dictating the pace of the race. Qualifying for European football is important to the club, both economically and athletic. Especially given the big team we have. In Underlecht, ambition is always to play in Europe, so pressure is no greater than usual, “Besnik Hassi added.
As for the absences of Simits, Sardela, Kamara and Digir, he commented: “This is unfortunate, but so does AEK. We just have to show that we are on the right track and make progress, and then the results will come. “
“After we were excluded from BK Häcken, we lost our Joker. Now it is up to us to correct it. And at our headquarters, on European nights, we can always bring something more, “he concluded.