No end to Olympiacos supremacy

Best attack
The reigning champions for the past seven seasons are also able to boast the division's best attack, having scored 34 goals, its tightest defence with just nine goals conceded as well as the division's top scorer in Giovanni who has scored ten times and the top assist provider in captain Predrag Djordjevic.

Giovanni steps up
It is all so very different from the beginning of the season when many observers thought that, with Marcin Kuzba going under the knife and Lampros Choutos suspended, Olympiacos might be short of options up front. However Brazilian 31-year-old Giovanni, currently playing his best football since joining the club in 1999, and 19-year old Uruguayan attacking midfield player Nery Alberto Castillo, who has scored five league goals including a hat-trick against OFI Crete FC, have more than compensated.

Stoltidis impresses
However, arguably the champions' most impressive performer has been defensive midfield player Ieroklis Stoltidis. A summer arrival from Iraklis FC, Stoltidis has risen to the occasion whenever the going has got tough, scoring crucial goals against AEK Athens FC and Panathinaikos.

Too inconsistent
Curiously, Olympiacos's sole defeat of the season was a 1-0 reverse at Proodeftiki FC which was the struggling side's only win of the season. However their rivals have been far too inconsistent to mount an effective challenge.

Search for formula
It is not for want of trying though. Panathinaikos in particular are desperate to find the formula that will bring them their first title since 1996, but are still struggling to come to terms with the departures of midfield players Giorgos Karagounis and Joonas Kollka and striker Nikos Lyberopoulos and develop a new system that accommodates their new signings and satisfies new coach Itzhak Shum.

Daunting injury list
Encouragingly, Panathinaikos have been strong at home, winning all eight games, but draws at Halkidona FC and Akratitos FC have cost them dear. They have also had to contend with a daunting injury list, which still includes Emmanuel Olisadebe, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Giourkas Seitaridis and Dimitrios Papadopoulos - all of whom are hoping to return to action in January.

Revelation of the season
Egaleo FC have been the revelation of the season. The modest Athens-based team are fourth, having recorded nine wins as well as an impressive 12-match unbeaten streak which only came to an end when they lost to Olympiacos on 21 December.

Youthful quartet
Giorgos Hatzaras' team have based their extraordinary performances this year on compact defending and talented young players such as strikers Anestis Agritis and Giannis Hloros and midfield players Giorgos Fotakis and Giannis Skopelitis. How they fare after Christmas depends a great deal on whether they can keep this quartet away from the grasp of more established clubs during the trasnfer window.

Watch for Iraklis
Elsewhere, FC PAOK, AEK and FC Aris Thessaloniki have been distracted by financial concerns. Iraklis, who disappointed at the beginning of the season, have won four games in a row since Mats Jingblad took over from Enge Gerards as coach and could yet make a burst from their current placing in sixth.

Akratitos struggle
At the foot of the table, Akratitos have just seven points and are the leading candidates to return to the Beta Ethniki. The Ano Liosia team have suffered several heavy defeats, including a 7-0 loss at Olympiacos, and such is the seriousness of their plight, that they have terminated the contracts of several highly-paid players and will rely on youth team players for the rest of the campaign.