Olympiakos vs TSC Baka Topola: UEFA Europa League Group Stages

Olympiakos vs TSC Baka Topola: 

UEFA Europa League Group Stages Preview

By Stephen Kountourou

Europa League Match Day Six: 14/12/23

Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time

Venue: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium 

Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 5 HD

It has certainly been a rollercoaster couple of weeks for Olympiakos. Another manager bit the dust as Diego Martinez was shown the door, with Portuguese manager Carlos Carvalhal becoming Thrylos' sixth coach in 18 months. A new Sporting Director in Pedro Alves, VAR controversy, fans clashing with police, postponed matches and supporters exasperated with how the club is run. 

Still, the focus must now be on the matter at hand. That being Olympiakos' final game of the UEFA Europa League group stages. The task is simple on paper, a win or draw will see the Piraeus side reach the UEFA Conference League over TSC Baka Topola, at the Karaiskakis Stadium. But, as we all know, things are complex regarding Olympiakos. 

Last Time in the Europa League 

Olympiakos 

In a do-or-die match, Olympiakos was dead on arrival. Within two minutes of the game against Freiburg commencing, Thrylos conceded, through some very poor defending. By halftime, Diego Martinez's men were 4-0 down, including a first-half hattrick from Austrian forward Michael Gregoritsch. 

It was rudimentary from there for the Bundesliga side who made changes and sat back, while an already defeated Olympiakos half-heartedly attempted to find a conciliation. Instead, Freiburg found a fifth through Ritsu Doan, well and truly dumping Thrylos out of the Europa League and handing them their heaviest defeat in Europe for 15 years. 

The writing was on the wall for Diego Martinez, with the Spaniard a dead man walking until he was officially relieved of his duties on Tuesday 5th December.

Baka Topola

The Serbian side hosted West Ham United in their final home game of the Europa League group stages. For the majority of the game the hosts held firm against their superior Premier League opponents. 

With one minute left of normal time, it looked as though Baka Topola could hold for a draw, only for Tomas Soucek to score late on to give the Hammers a narrow win. This means that Baka Topola has to win in Piraeus to overtake Olympiakos for the Conference League knockout stages.

Weekend Results 

Olympiakos 

Due to the suspension of the Super League this past weekend, Olympiakos' match away to Panserraikos was postponed. The most recent fixture Thrylos played was their trip to Volos in a highly controversial game. 

In what could end up being Diego Martinez’s final match as manager of the Piraeus side, Thrylos were on the back foot midway through the first half. Panos Retsos was sent off for a bad challenge and a penalty was awarded. 

The shot was initially saved by Andreas Paschalakis, only for the penalty taker, Panagiotis Moraitis to score from the rebound to make it 1-1 to Volos. A second penalty was awarded on the stroke of half time, only this time it was for Olympiakos, with Ayoub El Kaabi equalising. 

Juan Manuel García put Volos back in front in the 51st minute through another penalty, only for Thrylos to equalise almost immediately, from an Alexios Kalogeropoulos own goal. 

The away side thought they had finally gone in front on two occasions, only for El Kaabi and Giorgos Masouras’ goals to be ruled out for offside, after VAR controversially overturned the referee’s decision. 

As the game drew to a close the referee called the game to a halt, as the travelling Olympiakos fans began to clash with police. Tear gas was thrown, forcing the players, staff and officials off the pitch. Eventually, the players returned to the pitch and finished the game, but it was a sorry night for Greek football.  

Baka Topola

After the narrow defeat to West Ham, Baka Topola defeated league strugglers Radnički Niš 1-0, with an Ifet Djakovac goal in the second half. 

Their most recent fixture was against FK Radnički 1923. Despite having 15 shots, and their opponents having none on target, Baka Topola could only draw 0-0 away from home. 

Last Thoughts 

This may be an obvious thing to say, but this is a must not lose for Olympiakos. The failure to reach the Europa League knockout stages was disappointing. But if Thrylos cannot see out their final group stage game, albeit in an empty stadium against Baka Topola, to reach the Conference League, many will see it as a downright disaster. 

Under manager Carlos Carvalhal, and for what will be his first game in charge, the Piraeus side needs to regroup quickly for this match and the rest of the Super League regular season. 

Although he may not have been the first choice of many Olympiakos supporters, they will have to hope the experienced Portuguese manager can give their team the boost they need, to stay in Europe for 2024 and give some much-needed positivity, with a dark cloud currently hanging over the club and the rest of Greek football. 

@SteveKountourou

Hellas Football