Freiburg vs Olympiakos:

Europa League Group Stages Preview

By Stephen Kountourou 

Europa League Match Day Five: 30/11/23

Kick-off Time: 19:45 Greek Time

Venue: Europa-Park Stadion 

Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 4 HD

Do or Die

As cliched as it sounds, the circumstances, in which Olympiakos find themselves in Group A of the Europa League, it is do or die. The objective is a simple, yet difficult one. If Thrylos wish to have any hope of progressing to the knockout stages of UEFA’s second competition they must beat Freiburg in Germany, something they were within seconds of doing last season in the group stages, only to concede late on to draw 1-1. 

Defeat or a draw would eliminate them mathematically from finishing top two behind the Bundesliga side and West Ham, while still having 3rd place and the UEFA Conference League to secure over TSC Baka Topola. Manager Diego Martinez has a lot of work to do, before Thursday night's trip to Freiburg.  

Last Time in the Europa League 

Freiburg

The German side hosted TSC Baka Topola on Match Day 4 of the Europa League group stages, in a game that ended in utter domination. With 29 shots and ten on target, Freiburg ran out 5-0 winners over the bottom team in the group. 

Young centre midfielder Merlin Röhl opened the scoring in the first half and at the break, it could have been a much heavier scoreline. In the second half, the floodgates opened. 

The Bundesliga side scored three times in 24 minutes through Noah Weißhaupt, Maximilian Eggestein and Junior Adamu respectively, before Ritsu Dōan added a fourth in injury time to compound their victory over the Serbian side.

Olympiakos

Thrylos travelled to the London Stadium in their reverse fixture against West Ham United. In a close affair, the first half ended all square, with the Hammers boasting the better opportunities to score and Olympiakos lacking real cutting edge in the final third. 

The second half continued as such with the away side lacking that final ball to create anything meaningful while David Moyes’s men were denied only by the heroics of Andreas Paschalakis. 

Eventually, it was the Premier League side who broke the deadlock. Lucas Paquetá's 73rd-minute goal was initially ruled out for offside, but after a few minutes of checking, VAR overturned the decision and West Ham took the lead. 

Olympiakos' best chance of the half came late on when Mady Camara’s header cannoned off the post to nearly give Diego Martinz's men a late equaliser. The Hammers held on, however, to narrowly beat the Piraeus side in London.

Weekend Results

Freiburg

Christian Streich’s men returned from the international break to host Bundesliga strugglers Darmstadt. Despite dominating proceedings in possession and shots, it was the travelling tide who went ahead, with their only shot on target in the game, through Mathias Honsak. Freiburg continued to search for an equaliser and in the 35th minute found one, with Lucas Höler levelling.

The hosts continued to dominate after halftime but were still unable to find a winner. Freiburg was left frustrated and is still without a win in the Bundesliga since the 21st of October.

Olympiakos

In their final league home game of 2023, Olympiakos hosted bottom-of-the-table Panetolikos in an empty Karaiskakis Stadium. Within the first 15 minutes, it was the away side that took a shock lead in Piraeus. 

After catching their hosts on the counterattack, left-back Ilias Chatzitheodoridis scored the opener to make it 0-1 for the Argino side. Thylos, having conceded, went up the gears to find an equaliser, which they got, after a Santiago Hezze shot took an unfortunate deflection off defender Marios Oikonomou, who scored an own goal to make it 1-1. 

Five minutes before half-time, captain Kostas Fortounis scored a wonderful strike to put his side 2-1 up. After the break, it was a bit more routine for Olympiakos who pressured their opponents for one more goal to kill the game off, which they got through substitute Ayoub El Kaabi, who headed home to make it 3-1 and ended his personal goal drought. Thrylos saw out the game to win and keep pace with Panathinaikos in 1st.  

Last Thoughts

Freiburg has been a major thorn in Olympiakos' side for two straight European campaigns now. Not just because of previous results, but how Thrylos has either lost or not beaten the German side. 

Thursday night should not only be about either trying to fight till the end to secure an unlikely spot in the Knockout stages of the Europa League, or to mathematically confirm Conference League qualification for 2024. 

Diego Martinez and his players should also aim to put right the previous encounters with Freiburg once and for all, which would not only defeat their demons for the club but for the fans as well. 

@SteveKountourou

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