Already so much has happened since the start of the 2026/27 Greek Super League season.
Managers have been sacked, players have hit early form, clubs have either exceeded or fallen short of expectations.
Five games do not determine where a team will finish, but they can give an early indication as to what we can expect as the 2026/27 Greek Super League table starts to take shape.
Many have said that this might be the most competitive iteration of the Greek top flight for some time.
The gap is closing between the ‘Big Four’, while smaller teams are competing for a place on the European stage.
Even the newly-promoted sides are not guaranteed to go straight back down again after giving a good account of themselves.
So what have we learned about every club after just five games?
1. Panathinaikos – Early prep pays off?
Prasini have had a near-flawless start to the season.
Jacob Neestrup, with the deepest squad we have seen from Panathinaikos in a long time, has already embedded several new signings into the first team with a clear idea of how he wants them to play.
Panathinaikos sit top of the table after five games, with the most impressive result to date being the 3-1 derby win against PAOK. They will also face eternal enemies Olympiacos this weekend in Piraeus.
While a more demanding schedule awaits them with the start of the UEFA Conference League, if this form continues, fans may start to whisper about a first title in 17 years.
2. PAOK – European disappointment but unfazed in the league
For PAOK, their Conference League exit against Brann does not seem to have affected their league campaign.
Alessio Lisci, who many were shocked to see keep his job after that disappointment, still seems to have the backing of owner Ivan Savvidis.
They perhaps boast the thinnest squad out of the ‘Big Four’, especially with the departure of Giannis Konstantelias.
But after a solid start, including smashing Levadiakos in their opener, seeing off Atromitos and their only loss coming in the derby against league leaders Panathinaikos, PAOK can fully focus on domestic football.
With their title rivals all in Europe and a much more relaxed calendar, a title challenge could still be on the cards if they play their hand right.
3. AEK – Pragmatic summer but struggles on the road
The Greek champions, after a measured summer window and securing their place in the UEFA Champions League league phase, have had a decent start to the domestic campaign.
At home, AEK have been imperious, smashing Aris and Iralkis. On the road is a different story.
Enosis drew against 10-man Kifisia, Asteras Tripolis and only narrowly beat Volos.
The match against the Arcadians, while there is little excuse, can be attributed to fatigue after playing their first Champions League match against LASK days before.
Marko Nikolić understands he has to balance maintaining the continuity that made his team so successful last season and the need to refresh by embedding new players and starting over.
It is just as hard retaining a title as it is to win it in the first place.
Arguably the hardest schedule of any Greek club in all competitions, due to the quality of their Champions League opponents, and with Panathinaikos’ excellent start to the season, AEK will have their work cut out for them.
4. OFI – Still excellent with firm trust in Greeks
The darlings of Greek football, except maybe for Ergotelis fans, OFI Crete have continued where they left off last season in emphatic fashion.
The Cretans shocked Greek champions AEK in the Super Cup, claiming a second trophy in less than a couple of months, and qualified for the UEFA Europa League league phase.
Aside from a blip defeat against Aris, they defeated Olympiacos 1-0 in Karaiskakis and, days later, claimed a huge 2-0 win in the Europa League against Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.
As a reminder, this was also with a starting XI that mainly consisted of Greek players.
With some smart recruitment, OFI under Christos Kontis have really set themselves up to fight on all fronts.
This will be the club’s most demanding campaign in decades and while they have a deep squad, the Cretans will need to learn to balance European nights midweek and league obligations days later, something that has caused them to drop points both after the Europa League play-offs and matchday one of the league phase.
Even in three competitions, many expect OFI to challenge Aris for fifth place with an outside chance of breaking the dominance of the ‘Big Four’ before the end of the regular season.
They face a stern test against AEK at the Agia Sophia Stadium this weekend.
5. Olympiacos – The cycle continues
You could write a lengthy dissertation on Olympiacos this season so far, and it is only September.
They endured a lacklustre pre-season, a summer transfer window where players arrived late and a subsequent failure to qualify for the Champions League.
That is without mentioning the season-ending injury to Ayoub El Kaabi and the unjust sacking of manager Jose Luis Mendilibar.
Can you tell this is an Olympiacos supporter writing this?
It is not that Mendilibar left; nothing lasts forever.
But it does a disservice to arguably the greatest coach in the club’s history, and it disrupts the stability and harmony the players, many of whom are new signings.
But how have they performed in their first five games?
Under both Mendilibar and new manager Imanol Alguacil, similar problems remain.
Whether it is a pragmatic approach or a more system-like set-up, Thrylos have struggled to finish their chances.
Every victory has been a 1-0 win, against Atromitos, Asteras Tripolis and Levadiakos, with four goals scored in five league games.
The less said about the disastrous officiating against Volos in the 1-1 draw, the better, and the 1-0 loss in Karaiskakis to OFI, which the Cretans fully deserved.
There was a positive win in the Europa League opener against Jagiellonia and their latest league game, which was a last-minute victory in Livadia.
But instant results and time to implement a style of play is a tough balance at perhaps one of the most demanding jobs in European club football.
6. Panetolikos – Surprisingly good start
An early surprise of the Greek Super League 2026/27 season is Panetolikos and their good start.
After a campaign where the Canaries narrowly avoided relegation, Giannis Anastasiou’s team bolstered the squad in every position, including the marquee signings of former Premier League midfielders Marvelous Nakamba and Moussa Djenepo.
While it is worth giving credit to the club for their good start, it is also true to say that their first three fixtures were fairly forgiving.
They defeated fellow strugglers from last season, Asteras Tripolis, newly promoted Kalamata and a floundering Levadiakos, before Panathinaikos came and brought them back down to earth, as did PAOK.
Still, early indications suggest they will not be in a late relegation battle like last campaign.
If they can beat the teams around them, there is every chance of grabbing a Europe play-off place and avoiding the relegation play-outs.
7. Aris – The race for fifth place… again
The most intriguing question of the season, that is on everyone’s lips.
Perhaps a defining narrative that will shape the very fabric of the sport in Greece for years to come.
Will Aris finish fifth again?
Well, it has been a mixed start for Kitrinomavro.
They began with two wins, a five-goal thriller against newly promoted Kalamata, followed by an eye-catching 2-1 win over OFi.
But they were then hammered by AEK, lost the derby to PAOK in Toumba and were held to a 0-0 draw against Iraklis.
That is not to mention that Aris have the worst defensive record in the league after five games, conceding 10 goals already.
As it always seems to be the case with Aris, they have a deep squad with some solid players, but they lack the willingness to elevate their level and put pressure on the ‘Big Four’.
They have not brought in foreign players who have improved them, or trusted Greeks like they have pledged to do in the last two summer windows, unlike OFI, who have done both and look fantastic.
They will surely make the Europe play-off group, but is that good enough for what many deem the fifth biggest club in Greece?
8. Iraklis – Encouraging and perhaps unlucky
The first of the two newly-promoted sides, it is not unreasonable to say that Iraklis are perhaps the unluckiest team in the league after five games.
After a very busy summer, including perhaps a bit of a coup in hiring Walter Mazzarri as manager, Iraklis kicked off the season with admittedly an unsurprising 4-0 loss to champions AEK.
The subsequent matches, however, are where Iraklis can feel a bit more hard done by.
Away at Volos, the travelling side was minutes away from victory with 10 men, only for the hosts to score a late equaliser.
The most controversial result came against Atromitos.
The home side thought they had equalised with the ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing on the line.
The assistant referee and VAR could not confirm if the ball had fully crossed the line, due to there being no goal line technology and the goal was ruled out.
Eventually the home side did equalise, and with the score at 1-1, Iraklis scored again in added time.
Once again VAR ruled the goal out and awarded a foul to Atromitos, sparking significant protests from the hosts’ bench.
Even after defeating Asteras Tripolis 2-0 away and holding Thessaloniki rivals Aris to a 0-0 draw, Iraklis can definitely consider themselves as unfortunate at the start of a season where they will want to secure themselves as a top-flight team.
9. Kifisia – Tough nut to crack but must score more
Despite a tough start to the season, Sebastian Leto and his players have looked competitive at the start of the 2026/27 Greek Super League season.
Drawing with AEK was a good result for them, and losing to Panathinaikos and OFI is understandable, but Kianolefki seem to have real trouble finishing their chances.
They missed some big opportunities in a must-win match against Levadiakos, which they drew 0-0.
The only match so far in the league where Kifisia did not have the better clear-cut chances to score and failed to do so was against Panathinaikos.
They finally bagged a win just before the international break, away at Atromitos.
Even with players like Jorge Pombo off to a very good start, they will need more than just him to start contributing if Kifisia wants to progress higher up the table than the best of the rest in the relegation play-outs.
10. Kalamata – Spirited, but will it be enough?
Similar to Iraklis, Kalamata are attempting to break the stereotype of newly promoted clubs being resigned to going straight back down again.
Blackstorm, who also had a heavy summer of investment, started the season with two defeats, but they were leading their opener 2-1 against Aris before Kitrinomavo came back to win 2-3.
They were arguably the better side in the draw against Atromitos, saw off Volos 3-1, in which loanee Erik Hamza starred and only narrowly lost 1-0 against an in-form Panathinaikos.
In short, there is certainly a fight in them based on their early season displays. But it is whether they have the quality and experience to maintain that in a league that has suddenly become very competitive from top to bottom.
11. Atromitos – Solid but unimpressive
The first of four teams yet to win this season, Atromitos had a fairly quiet window compared to other teams in the league.
They lost their first two matches against Olympiacos and PAOK, drew twice to newly promoted Kalamata and Iraklis and were defeated by Kifisia.
Certain individuals have stood out, such as Samuel Moutoussamy, who continues his good form from the end of last campaign and Olympiacos loanee Stavros Pnevmonidis.
Although without winning so far this season, it does not feel like the side from the Athens suburb of Peristeri will be in a relegation battle.
But manager Dusan Kerkez must now start to get wins on the board once club football resumes, as it can be difficult to break a winless run if it goes on for long enough.
12. Asteras Tripolis – Slow start but showing improvement
The Arcadians, after three successive defeats to start the 2026/27 Greek Super League campaign, have steadied the ship in recent weeks and look much more solid.
Georgios Antonopoulos, who held steady the ship at the end of last season, changed tactics to a back three/back five formation, and this can be attributed to Asteras’ improvement in recent weeks.
They held both AEK and OFI to successive draws, with talismanic player Julián Bartolo having an impressive season on the wing.
Like Atromitos, they should be safe if they continue with these performances.
13. Levadiakos – Second season syndrome?
Yet to win, yet to score, new manager, new style, and several key players having left over the summer, Levadiakos seem to have hit second-season syndrome.
It is a shame because Elias Charalambous is a good manager who has been successful in the club game with FCSB in Romania.
Perhaps it is the high expectations Levadiakos set for themselves under Nikos Papadopoulos last season.
Combined with too much change before the season began, they were still figuring things out even in September.
They have kept several key players from the team that finished sixth last season and nearly qualified for Europe, but Levadiakos must find a way to convert their chances.
Iraklis, Volos and Asteras Tripolis await them when the league recommences, and all are must-win games; otherwise, it could be curtains for the Cypriot manager in Livadia.
14. Volos – Frustratingly okay
It is hard to be impartial when talking about Volos FC, but even their position in dead last is not reflective of how the team has performed thus far.
They have actually given quite a few Greeks consistent game time, including their standout player so far Lazaros Lamprou.
But bad news struck over the international break, with a three-point deduction hitting the Thessalians, leaving them on -1 points as the 2026/27 Greek Super League season resumes.
Many would like them to get relegated, but considering the strengthening of their squad, they could be fine.
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