Ludogorets vs Olympiakos

Ludogorets vs Olympiakos:

UCL 3rd Round Qualifying 

2nd Leg Preview 

With a matter of days to go before the second half of the Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round, a nerve racking waits for supporters of teams in this stage to see whether their side takes the next step into the playoffs or if they fall short and resign to a place in the Europa League at the same stage. As I said last week after a 1-1 draw in Piraeus, it’s all to play for in the tie featuring Olympiakos and Ludogorets. 

With no away goals to worry about, Thrylos travel to Bulgaria with almost a clean slate to try to put the tie to bed and reach the UCL playoffs for the third season in a row. But much like in the packed Karaiskakis stadium it's going to be a tough match against a Ludogorets side who have shown themselves to have the ability to hurt the Greek Champions in areas of the pitch. So once again I'll be previewing a tie on a knife edge while also attempting to improve my poor prediction record.

Last time in the Champions League

The first leg in Piraeus was certainly an eventful and frustrating one, particularly for fans of the Greek Champions. Pedro Martins started a relatively strong side in the 3-4-3, although a couple of key players were still not fully fit to start the match against Ludogorets. During the first 30 minutes, Thrylos had the upper hand as they pushed for an early opener to take control of the tie, but they could not create several key chances that found Egyptian striker Hassan. As half time approached, the Bulgarian side found some momentum and took advantage of Olympiakos high line, breaking quickly with only Tzolakis one on one against a Ludogorets attacker and made a fantastic save to keep the score level. 

At halftime, Martins brought on Yann M’Vila for Pierre Kunde to bring more solidity to the midfield. A foul from Cisse on the outside of the Olympiakos box gave Ludogorets a freekick. Even with bodies in the way of the free-kick taker, Kiril Despodov curled it past Tzolakis to take a 1-0 lead for the away side. Pedro Martins reacted almost immediately, taking Cisse off in replacement for Yussef El Arabi in an attempt to find an instant equaliser. From that point on it was more or less all Thrylos as they dominated possession constantly pushing to draw level with their opponents. 

As the last ten minutes drew closer Erythrolefki had missed a couple more huge chances but were still pushing to draw level with the visitors. After a shot by Mady Camara was saved the rebound by Aguibou Camara who fired it past the keeper and made it 1-1 to raucous celebrations from the Olympiakos faithful. After that Thrylos were given the confidence to find an unlikely winner but it was not to be and the first leg finished as it began on level terms.  

Injuries and Suspensions

To my knowledge other than any previously mentioned long term injuries, Thrylos have more or less a full strength side going into this match with Andreas Bouchalakis and Sokratis returning to the squad on their trip to Bulgaria.

Starting Xi and Prediction 

Despite its shortcomings last week I believe that Pedro Martins will once again start his Olympiakos team in the 3-4-3. Goalkeeper is becoming an interesting story for Thrylos as questions are beginning to be asked about the fitness of Tomas Vaclik and why Thrylos supporters are yet to see the Czech international between the sticks. What is being said is that young gun Tzolakis will retain his place for the second leg and after his last few performances, he’s earned it. 

The centre back trio will be the go to for Martins, that being Sokratis, Semdo and Ba, although Markovic would not be a bad selection in replacement for either of the other three. Kenny Lala had a mixed game in Piraeus but I do think he will be given the nod at right wing back, as Thanasis Androutsos worked well off the bench. Almost no deliberating for left wing back, Oleg will start. 

Midfield will be the dynamic duo of Mady Camara and Yann M’Vila. On both wings, I believe that Masouras and Valbuena will maintain their spots and there will be a cameo debut from new signing Henry Onyekuru. At striker, I believe that El Arabi should take his place back from a misfiring Hassan.   

Martins has to manage this game much better than in the previous encounter between these two sides. Despite some good spells in the game Thrylos were left exposed on numerous counterattacks and if it had not been for the heroics of Tzolakis, Olympiakos would have conceded a couple more goals in open play. Goal scoring too has been an issue, but with El Arabi back to score the goals as well as helping with build up play, there is hope that Olympiakos will be able to convert the chances they have missed over the last few games in Europe. 

With all of the pieces to play 3-4-3 now, this should be a more composed performance for the Greek Champions despite Ludogorets still posing a threat with some talented individuals. I will once again predict that Olympiakos will win the match 0-1 away and reach the Champions League Playoffs. I’ve got to be right at some point.

Hellas Football 

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