Olympiacos and Bayer Leverkusen do battle again in this season’s Champions League, but the stakes are higher on Tuesday night as their playoff tie gets underway.
José Luis Mendilibar’s Olympiacos sailed up to the lofty heights of 18th in the league phase table after finishing with three-straight wins. That included an efficient 2–0 victory over Leverkusen on Matchday 7.
But their late rally means they’ve got a shot at reaching the Champions League round of 16 for just the fourth time this century.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, finished a point better off than Olympiacos in the table, having also enjoyed a fruitful end to the league phase. Kasper Hjulmand’s men won three of their final five games, including a 3–0 win over Villarreal in Gameweek 8, to finish 16th.
Domestically, Wednesday’s visitors have been up-and-down, but they’ve found somewhat of a groove over the past few weeks with their canny Danish manager at the helm.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to the first leg of this playoff tie.
Olympiacos | Bayer Leverkusen |
|---|---|
Levadiakos 0–0 Olympiacos | Bayer Leverkusen 4–0 St. Pauli |
Olympiacos 0–1 Panathinaikos | Borussia Mönchengladbach 1–1 Bayer Leverkusen |
Asteras Tripolis 0–3 Olympiacos | Bayer Leverkusen 3–0 St. Pauli |
AEK Athens 1–1 Olympiacos | Eintracht Frankfurt 1–3 Bayer Leverkusen |
Ajax 1–2 Olympiacos | Bayer Leverkusen 3–0 Villarreal |
Country | TV Channel/Live Stream |
|---|---|
United States | Paramount+ |
United Kingdom | TNT Sports 4, discovery+, discovery+ App |
Canada | DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada |
Mexico | TNT Sports, Max Mexico, TNT Go |
Theofanis Bakoulas is the only injury to note for the home side, who enter Wednesday’s first leg healthy.
Despite the indifferent run of form domestically, Mendilibar is unlikely to panic and opt for wholesale rotation against the Bundesliga side.
Mehdi Taremi has scored 13 Champions League goals and will likely lead Olympiacos’ line. He’ll be supported by Gelson Martins in attack. The experienced Portuguese winger scored in the all-important 2–1 win at Ajax last month.
Santiago Hezze netted the winner in Amsterdam, but he’s one of three players that would be suspended for the second leg if they pick up a booking on Wednesday. Dani García and Taremi are the other two.
Olympiacos predicted lineup vs. Bayer Leverkusen (4-2-3-1): Tzolakis; Costinha, Retsos, Pirola, Ortega; Hezze, García; Rodinei, Chiquinho, Martins; Taremi.
The visitors are currently without goalkeeper Mark Flekken due to a knee injury, while Nathan Tella and Eliesse Ben Seghir are dealing with ankle and foot injuries, respectively.
All three could be back in action by the time the round of 16 rolls around. If Leverkusen advance, of course.
Hjulmand’s attack has purred in recent weeks, with Patrik Schick among the goals and Malik Tillman impressing between the lines. Ernest Poku is a live wire down the left, while Alejandro Grimaldo is a distinct threat in the final third.
Lucas Vázquez’s role in this competition shouldn’t go under the radar either, given the success he enjoyed at Real Madrid. Hjulmand was surely lean on the veteran Spaniard on Wednesday.
Bayer Leverkusen predicted lineup vs. Olympiacos (3-4-2-1): Blaswich; Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba; Vázquez, García, Fernández, Grimaldo; Tillman, Poku; Schick.
An early goal allowed Olympiacos to sit and counter against Leverkusen last month, with that suiting the hosts down to the ground. They scored twice with their only two shot in target, while the visitors huffed and puffed with no reward.
Mendilibar is a Europa League-winning coach who’ll give his side the best possible chance over two legs, but you’ve got to expect that Leverkusen have learned a few lessons from their defeat.
Thus, this might be a tense encounter where neither team wants to commit the game-defining error. The spoils could be shared in a low-scorer.
Prediction: Olympiacos 1–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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