2022/2023 Cyta Championship Predictions

This article was originally written prior to the season starting and therefore prior to the transfer window closing.

There are 14 teams in the 2022-2023 season and we will be looking at where each team will finish from the bottom up. This season the teams finishing first to sixth in the first phase of the league will go into the Championship 2nd phase where the teams will battle it out for the title and the European places. 7th to 14th will battle it out to stay in the top division, with the last three teams being relegated to the second division.

Last season’s first phase finished like this:

Apollon Limassol
APOEL Nicosia
AEK Larnaca
Anorthosis Famagusta
Aris Limassol
Pafos FC
Omonia Nicosia
AEL Limassol
Olympiakos Nicosia
Doxa Katokopias
PAEEK Kyrenia
Ethnikos Achna

Then the Championship 2nd Phase finished:

Apollon Limassol
AEK Larnaca
APOEL Nicosia
Aris Limassol
Anorthosis Famagusta
Pafos FC

And the Relegation 2nd Phase finished:

Omonia Nicosia
AEL Limassol
Olympiakos Nicosia
Doxa Katokopias
Ethnikos Achna
PAEEK Kyrenia

Achna and PAEEK getting relegated. So no more talking about them for at least a season.

*All 12 of their fans are coming for me ( Photo by* *Uriel Soberanes* on *Unsplash* )

Last season, Karmiotissa Pano Polemidion, Nea Salamina, Akritas Chlorakas and ENP Paralimni were promoted. 6 points separated them, with Karmiotissa coming 1st and Nea Salamina second thanks to vs records as they finished on the same points.

14. Akritas Chlorakas

All 12 of their fans are coming for me too *( Photo by* *Uriel Soberanes* on *Unsplash* )

Their most exciting signing is a 32 year old Javi Eraso from Leganes. Their coach is on his third Cypriot team within a year. David Badia started 2022 at Ethnikos Achna (and was in charge for 15 games), was poached by AEK Larnaca and lasted 10 games before being let go. Trends tend to him being poached by APOEL after 5 games. Straight back down.

13. Karmiotissa

Last time the team from a suburb of Limassol were in the top league, they had to play their games in Pafos as the Pano Polemidia Community Stadium is not suitable for top league football and the Tsirion was already the home ground to three teams (Apollon, Aris and AEL). They fought bravely in the 2020-2021 season, but still finished bottom and adrift by 10 points even with results such as beating and drawing with APOEL in the first phase of the season. Their form fell off a cliff during the relegation group of the second phase, with only one win and 3 draws.

This time they seem to be better equipped, but not quite good enough to survive. They have made some interesting signings with extensive experience, such as:

Andreas Avraam, who at 35, has played at Anorthosis, Apollon, Omonia, AEL Limassol and AEL Larissa in Greece, and has played extensively for the national team;
Tomas Hubocan (36) who is a former Slovakia international who has played for Zenit, Dynamo Moscow and Marseille, before arriving in Cyprus to play for Omonia for 3 seasons;
Emilio Zalaya (35) has scored 63 goals in 128 games in Cyprus and was a player who was sold for actual money (400k euros) which is rare for a transfer involving a Cypriot club.

They have also signed a goalkeeper called Milan Knobloch.

*Image totally not related*
*( Photo by Nicholas Githiri:* *https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photography-of-wet-padlock-1068349/* )

Theirs is the second oldest squad in the league, and the youngsters they have in support of the pensioners already mentioned are not of the quality that is required to stay in the league.

12. Enosis Neon Paralimniou

The club is well known in Cyprus for bringing through great youth prospects which includes the national team’s all time top goalscorer (32 goals in 85 caps) Michalis Konstantinou, who did not only a great job in the Cypriot top league for ENP, but made the grade in Greece as well, transferring first to Iraklis Heraklion and then playing for both Panathinaikos and Olympiakos, scoring 114 goals in 283 games.

This reflects in the average of the squad making it the joint second youngest in the league. The club has always operated on the ethos that youth is the way, but for that reason, when they were in the top league, they were continually finishing in the bottom 4 or 5 teams, flirting with relegation constantly.

Even in their signings this seems to be the case (as few as there have been compared to others), with only one player over the age of 30 (Branko Mihaklovic), who is a striker who has spent a lot of time in the Israeli and Armenian top flights, scoring 63 and assisting 3 in 256 games.

The team barely got promoted last season in 4th place (which in a normal season, would not be considered a promotion). I have them taking the third relegation place though, as they always have something in the tank with their youth players. It just won’t be enough.

Someone said you don’t win anything with kids.

11. Doxa Katakopias

Doxa are playing in the top league in their own ground for the first time this season, following upgrades to meet league standards. Prior they were playing in the Makarion stadium, which was a ruin when APOEL and Omonia moved out of it to the New GSP stadium in the late 90s.

*The Makarion Stadium in 2022*
*( Photo by Martijn Vonk:* *https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-walking-on-street-near-brown-concrete-building-7655686/* )

The team has moved as close to their home as possible, with the village of Peristerona being on the opposite (and free) side to the Green Line to Katokopia (which is in the Occupied Area). They should at least now see attendances of more than 10 when they play from now on. The stadium seems to be the most important signing of the summer, with the most noteworthy player signed being Ibrahim Kargbo Jr. Emphasis on the Jr, as Ibrahim Kargbo Sr is a big ol’ match-fixer. He has been banned from undertaking all and any football activities due to “match manipulation”.

10. Nea Salamina

Anorthosis’ noisy neighbours. Another one of those perennial teams that hangs around the relegation zone, except when they’re not in the division. They were promoted last year in second place, losing out only on results against, which is the go-to when two teams are equal on points in the Cyprus leagues. Salamina finished with a better goal difference than Karmiotissa with more goals scored than them (7 more to be precise).

They signed Florian Taulmelesse halfway through last season. The French forward has been in Cyprus since 2017 and has scored 39 goals and provided 11 assists in 79 games in the top league. The recruitment for the team seems to be the opposite of ENP and this reflects in the average age of the squad which is the third highest.

*Pictured: Nea Salamina’s latest signing*

9. Olympiakos Nicosia

Olympiakos only just recently announced that their main sponsor for the season was approved by the country’s betting authority, and prior to this, they had stated that should the sponsor not be approved, they would have to enter administration.

Despite this, they have announced a few signings. Considering the finances of teams in Cyprus are on shaky ground at the best of times, if the team is announcing issues at the beginning of the season, I expect by January, a lot of those signings will be out the door. They also have history of being on the brink of collapse and bringing it back from the edge.

In the meantime I see them picking up enough points from the teams around them beforehand which will mean they will be fine.

8. Aris Limassol

Aris have always been labelled as Limassol’s “3rd team”, as their neighbours AEL and Apollon have 6 and 4 top league titles respectively. Aris have yet to stick that landing. Last season they finished 4th in the Championship Group meaning they qualified for European competition for the first time in their history. Their relative inexperience in competitions showed as they were knocked out of the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds by a more experienced Neftci Baku side from Azerbaijan 3-2 on aggregate.

They were the main surprise package last season, but the “top” teams have invested heavily this year to make sure they at least get into that Championship round, which means it will be more difficult for those underdogs to get in.

Like the Titanic lifeboats, someone has to fall off the sides of the Championship round because they’re too full and Aris are one of those teams.

7. Anorthosis Famagusta

*“Here. We. Go.” ( Photo by* *Uriel Soberanes* on *Unsplash* )

The other team that will fall out of those lifeboats will be Anorthosis. They lost out on Europe last year, which meant that they split from Temuri Ketsbaia (again). The man who got Anorthosis into the Champions League proper and won them titles in his first stint in charge disappeared without much of a whimper this time round, and he has moved on to now manage the Cypriot national team.

The team he built up has been dismantled, with defenders and midfielders spilling out of the club in the summer, including Cypriot international Artymatas, who has gone to Apollon and Georgian international Georgi Kvilitaia heading to APOEL. To strengthen they have signed a load of mid-table teams’ better players, some Ligue 1 stalwarts and also a 36 year-old Jason Puncheon who did fine for Pafos FC in his three seasons there.

Only the Karmiotissa team have an older squad.

*Pictured: The son of Anorthosis’ latest signing*

6. Pafos FC

The main thing for Pafos is to keep up the improvements they made last season and make sure they get in to the Championship round again. But like with Aris, the teams that would normally make the top 6 have thrown a lot of money at their recruitment, and Pafos have had to go out and make some interesting signings of their own, just to keep up.

An important signing behind the scenes is a new Director of Football in Gaizka Mendieta. Henning Berg has also come in as the head coach, following his sacking from Omonia, who managed to get so much out of Matt Derbyshire there and got them top in the COVID-cancelled season (where they were not declared Champions) and into the European competitions and performing well.

They have managed to keep hold of hot property Onni Valakari and seem to be signing some very interesting young players from all over the place, from Brazil, to Georgia, to Portugal. Muamer Tanković has also been signed which I have stated previously, will be one to watch out for. If they can get the team to gel quickly enough and playing as Berg got Omonia playing in his first couple of seasons, then they are in for an exciting time. Only issue, as with most Cypriot teams is the itchy trigger finger the ownership for most clubs have of completely decimating the coaching team after 3 months if it doesn’t work.

5. AEK Larnaca

I predict AEK are going to just miss out on those precious, precious European spaces, but mostly due to performance against other Championship group sides. Compared to what the teams above them have done in the transfer window, their recruitment hasn’t gathered the same momentum. Europa League group stages could also take their toll, despite the fact they absolutely bossed the qualifying stages, and a rocky first phase could be their undoing. Spicy spicy spicy trip to Turkey to play Fenerbahce is one that the police and the armies of each country will be keeping a very keen eye on.

Theirs was the best defence in the league last season, but their goalscorers only managed to be joint fourth best. Because of this they have concentrated their recruitment in the attacking half of the pitch this summer, with only right back Cassas and DM Sanjurjo coming in on the defensive side and also two new goalkeepers for some reason.

There’s nothing new really setting the team apart this season, although some would argue for stability. If that was the case though, they wouldn’t be on their third coach in the space of 12 months.

*Welcome to the AEK manager’s office (Photo by* *Artem Sapegin* on *Unsplash*)

4. Apollon Limassol

Last season’s champions. This season’s Super Cup winners. Why do I only have them in fourth? Firstly, their European qualification over the summer, knocked out of Champions League qualifying by Maccabi Haifa, then knocked out of Europa League qualifying by Olympiakos on penalties. Following that knock-out by Haifa which included an abject display in Israel, and discontent from the players regarding his training regime, Championship winning manager Zorniger was shown the door.

That player discontent seems to have come from the strict discipline Zorniger requires from his players. But it seems Zorniger also had bust-ups with non-playing staff as well. Those players and staff are still there.

And now they have David Catala as their coach. Not very well tested, only having previously managed AEK Larnakas following his retirement with the team and was sacked in March of his first season in charge. There’s a lot of pressure for everyone involved.

Ah, the avgolemoni soup is ready… *( Photo by* *Crystal Kwok* on *Unsplash* )

They have made a series of very, very interesting transfers, and it will be interesting to see how Catala gets players like Recio, Peybernes, Ba, Janga, Cabral and Va going. Va was one of the stars for Paphos last season, while Recio and Peybernes have Primera and Segunda Liga experience. Artymatas coming from Anorthosis as a like-for-like replacement for the released Katelaris is also a good bit of business. Hopefully it works out for them, but Europe could be a distraction, especially as it’s the Conference League.

3. APOEL Nicosia

APOEL no longer have to worry about Europe for this season. If they take that as the positive that it is, as they won’t be involved in the Conference League, they could mount a serious title challenge.

They have made some good, if unspectacular signings, such as Bulgarian international Kostadinov, Bosnian international Susic, Dany Blum from VfL Bochum and ex-Sevilla, Bologna, Aston Villa and PAOK player Jose Crespo as well as some interesting younger signings like Dumbravanu from SPAL, Mujanic from Malmo and Rafael Moreira from Sporting Lisbon.

Avgousti was brought in to correct the ship following the disaster that was Mick McCarthy’s reign and Savvas Poursaitidis’ righting some of the wrongs.

*Who knew this man would be a disaster, seriously?*

Last season the team managed to finish the first phase of the league in second place, but the Championship group was too strong for them and they finished in third, which would have been a let down for everyone involved. They were also knocked out of the Cup in the Quarter Finals which was another let down. This season is make-or-break for Avgousti as APOEL have an immense history of winning, and if he doesn’t bring something to the fans and to the board to celebrate soon, he will be out on the street.

2. Omonia Nicosia

Omonia had an absolute disaster of a season in the league last year and only got into Europe thanks to a Cup win. Henning Berg did so well beforehand, with Omonia coming top of the league in the COVID season and doing enough to get into the Group stages of the Europa League. But something fell apart last season and Berg was sacked at the end of February.

And then came in Neil Lennon.

While they played in the Relegation Group, there was no argument that there was a stark improvement in performances and results, only losing once in the final 10 games.

Lennon and Omonia have also been busy in the transfer market, to make sure they do not get hit like they did again, with some very surprising and quality signings. Lennon searched through his mobile’s phonebook to pull off the signing of Adam Matthews, with Matthews signed by Lennon while manager of Celtic and ex-Man City youth player Brandon Barker who’s also played for Rangers, Reading and Preston. They have also broken the bank in terms of Cypriot transfer fees by spending 1.5 million euros on Stade Reims player Moreto Cassama.

Big things should be coming.

1.AEL Limassol

Big, big call from me. AEL were nowhere last season, finishing low enough to compete with Omonia in the Relegation Group. And finished 8th overall. If Omonia’s season was a disaster, AEL’s was an apocalypse. The story seems to be the same as Henning Berg’s albeit without the fame attached to Berg’s name.

Dusan Kerkez came in as at first an interim manager following his coaching of AEL’s youth team and managed to get Limassol’s historically top team actually performing in the league, coming in 4th, 6th and 3rd. Then, they stopped performing. And Kerkez’s head rolled in December. Savvas Pantelides came in to improve fortunes.

They did not.

So why do I have them winning the actual league this year?

Firstly, ex-Sporting Lisbon manager Silas is now in charge. Secondly, the signings. My. Dear. Lord. What signings.

In goal, they have signed, thanks to Silas’ connection with the player, Muriel. Weird name for a player, until you realise that it’s Alisson’s brother. Yes, that Alisson. They have also signed ex-Aston Villa and MK Dons player Aaron Tshibola from Gencerlibirligi andhave also brought in ex Liverpool youth, Fulham, Burnley, Watford and Nantes striker Alexander Kacaniklic.

And Kevin Mirallas. It’s very difficult to describe the shocking nature of Mirallas joining AEL.