In the Greek Super League, Olympiacos have made a solid start, while West Ham’s start to the season has been decent compared to last season’s performance.
Having finished third behind Panathinaikos and AEK, Olympiacos have made a much-improved start to their season this term. The Thrýlos, in their first six games of the season, won five of those games while sharing the spoils with AEK in an explosive encounter. Forward Ayoub El Kaabi is doing the work upfront, as he has scored five goals across that number of games.
To get to this stage of the Europa League, Olympiacos labored through two rounds of qualifiers. They edged Racing Genk 2-1 on aggregate in the first round – Konstantinos Fortounis scored the winner in the first leg in the opening minute, and it was crucial in the grand scheme of things. The reverse fixture, with a player sent off on either team, ended in a draw after Sotiris Alexandropoulos netted a stoppage-time equalizer. In the final round, the Greek side faced Serbian side Cukaricki, and they breezed past their inexperienced opposition 6-1 on aggregate to book their place in the group stage.
On the flip side, David Moyes’ West Ham drew with Bournemouth in their season opener before beating Chelsea 3-1 at the London Stadium. Lucas Paqueta, Michail Antonio and defender Nayef Aguerd were the goal scorers in the win as the Hammers claimed the bragging rights of the London derby.
Moyes’ side showed their grit and doggedness in their next game, Brighton, winning 3-1 against all odds. James Ward-Prowse got the game’s first goal, Jarrod Bowen also scored, while Antonio made it two goals in two games. Up next was newly promoted Luton Town before the international break, and they claimed the expected win. Bowen and Kurt Zouma were the goalscorers in the 2-1 win, while Ward-Prowse got another assist from a corner.
After the international break, West Ham suffered their first defeat of the season when defending champions Manchester City visited the London Stadium. Moyes’ men led at half-time through Ward-Prowse before a strong performance from the Citizens turned the game on its head. Fresh from that defeat, West Ham United entertained Backa Topola at the London Stadium in their UEFA Europa League opener, and after going behind early in the second half, they turned the game around late on to extend their unbeaten run in Europe since the start of last season.
West Ham have been playing at different levels of European football in the past few seasons, claiming the Conference League last season. They also have the squad to compete for the European title this season. Meanwhile, Olympiacos fell off at some point and are just trying to return to their feet.
Olympiacos have faced English opposition 38 times across all competitions and have only won ten games. During that time, they faced the Hammers twice, lost one, and played out a draw in the other.
West Ham and Freiburg are favorites to progress from the group. However, Olympiacos can disrupt the scheme of things here if they can find their best level and inflict a rare European match loss on the Londoners.
Match tickets
This epic match at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus kicks off on Thursday, 26th October, at 5:45 PM UK time, and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 5 PM.
This is a Europa League clash between a recent European champion and another team hoping to make it past the round of 16 this year. Thursday night will be special in Greece, and West Ham fans will be present as they make it to the 33,334-capacity venue.
Getting tickets for the Olympiacos vs West Ham United tickets should not be a problem, considering the kind of opposition coming to the ground. Anyways, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Olympiacos do have several players missing for the visit of West Ham. However, they should still be able to assemble a team to compete against the English side. El Kaabi, who got both goals in the group opener, should continue to lead the line. He will be supported in attack by the likes of Riel and Fortounis. Meanwhile, Fadiga, Doron Leidner, and Omar Richards are long-term absentees.
Olympiacos: Paschalakis; Rodinei, Retsos, Freire, Ortega; Hezze, Camara; Masouras, Biel, Fortounis; El Kaabi.
West Ham have made some progress this season compared to how the season went for them last campaign. Moyes has been using the cup competitions to rotate his goalkeepers, so Fabianskiis expected to be in goal instead of Areola. While summer signing, Kudus could be given a start alongside the in-form Ward-Prowse. Meanwhile, apart from Aaron Cresswell, who is nursing a thigh problem, West Ham does have a clean bill of health.
West Ham United: Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Soucek, Benrahma; Bowen, Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Antonio.
Prediction
As at the time of writing, Ayoub El Kaabi has scored six goals in his last four games since the international break, while West Ham Midfielder James Ward-Prowse has also directly contributed to a goal in each of his last seven club appearances (G3, A7).
West Ham are unbeaten in their last 16 European matches (W15, D1). The Hammers have only kept a clean sheet this season, and Olympiacos, who have scored in every home game this season, will look to capitalize.
Olympiacos 2-1 West Ham United