Olympiakos vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen: UEFA Champions League matchday seven preview

 Olympiakos vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen: 

UEFA Champions League matchday seven preview


By Stephen Kountourou



UEFA Champions League League Phase Matchday Seven

Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time

Venue: Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium

Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 2 HD


Olympiakos is never far away from a crisis. Even after claiming the Greek Super Cup after its long-awaited return, and briefly returning to the top of the Greek Super League table following the Christmas break, Thrylos supporters, particularly those online, would have you believe the club is on the verge of liquidation. 

That is not to say criticism of the decision-making at the club regarding transfers, the defeat to PAOK in the Greek Cup, coupled with the players' abject performances, and at times the recent tactical choice of manager Jose Luis Mendilibar, is unjustified. 

But we are only in January, and there is still plenty to fight for in the league and, the topic of this preview, the UEFA Champions League, which returns for the final two League Phase fixtures.

The Greek champions, despite their sparse form, host Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in what is the first of two must-win matches to have any hope of snatching a place in the top 24 and the playoffs.

Even with mixed results, players injured or away at AFCON, everyone, including fans at the stadium and online, must band together to back the team for this extremely important fixture that could be make or break for Olympiakos’s European adventure this season.


Last time in the UCL

On the final Champions League matchday of 2025, Thrylos finally came out victorious in a 1-0 win over Kairat Almaty thanks to a great solo effort from Gelson Martins.

In what can only be described as a jubilant but frustrating match in equal measure, Olympiakos could and should have won by more. 

Travelling to Kazakhstan, where temperatures dropped to -22, the away side squandered multiple chances in the first half to take the lead, combined with the heroics of Kairat goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov. 


After the break, the Greek champions continued to pressure the hosts for an opener with the urgency of getting their first win in Europe's elite competition. Finally, their efforts paid off. 

Gelson Martins made an excellent run down his right-hand side, and rather than squaring the ball to an oncoming Ayoub El Kaabi, accomplished the more difficult task of slotting it past Anarbekov to put his side in front. 

Over the course of the whole game, Olympiakos hit the post numerous times, with the final two being the most agonising, first from super sub Mehedi Taremi and the latter from El Kaabi, who, despite having a completely open net, missed the chance to put the match to bed.

Thankfully for Thrylos fans, the wait for a win in the Champions League was finally over. With two games left to go, at the time of writing, qualification to the playoffs is still very much a possibility.


Bayer Leverkusen, who currently have nine points after six League Phase matches, hosted Newcastle United at the BayArena, where Die Werkself salvaged a 2-2 draw against the Magpies.

An own goal from Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes put Kasper Hjulmand’s men ahead early on. The Premier League side, however, managed to turn the game on its head in the second half. 

A well-taken penalty from Anthony Gordon and a second via Lewis Miley put Leverkusen to the sword. 

It took an Alejandro Grimaldo equaliser in the 88th minute to prevent the home side from suffering only their second loss of their European campaign.


Recent results

As stated before, after a poor end to 2025, Thrylos initially hit the ground running by winning the Greek Super Cup in extra time against OFI to lift another piece of silverware, and they defeated Atromitos in Peristeri 0-2 to go back to the top of the Greek Super League table. 

The outlook changed dramatically after the most recent match in the Greek Cup quarter finals, where, as holders, Olympiakos hosted PAOK. In short, it was one of the worst performances of the Mendilibar era at the club. 

Diving into what happened in greater detail, the Piraeus side found themselves 0-2 down in 15 minutes, thanks to well-taken goals by Greek prospect Anestis Mythou and Magomed Ozdoyev. 

Thrylos looked like a deer caught in headlights for the rest of the game, Mendilibar’s changes did nothing to impact the match, and only Konstantinos Tzolakis and Christos Mouzakitis came out of the calamitous result with any credibility. 

A deserved victory overall for PAOK and an abject Olympiakos must now try to put this cup exit behind them, with no league fixture over the weekend to prepare for an even tougher test on Tuesday.

The Bundesliga side have not fared much better since the turn of the year. Upon their return from the winter break, Bayer Leverkusen first suffered a 1-4 drubbing at the hands of fellow Champions League chasers VFB Stuttgart and, most recentl,y a narrow 1-0 loss away to Hoffenheim. 


Record against German opposition

Against Bayer Leverkusen, specifically at home, Olympiakos fans will recall the famous 6-2 victory in 2002. Only one of two matches they played against the German side during the old Champions League group stages.

When looking at Thrylos's competitive record at home against Bundesliga clubs, it's a mixed bag. While the overall record in Karaiskaki is four wins, no draws and seven losses, which sounds ok on paper, they have lost their last six games at home in a row. The most recent defeat was the 2-3 defeat against Freiburg which still haunts Thrylos fans to this day.


Make or break in Europe this season

Numerous news publications in Greece and supporters have rightly described this match against Bayer Leverkusen as a final for Olympiakos. 

While not winning does not automatically resign Thrylos to elimination on Tuesday night, it will definitely be out of their hands to reach the playoffs when they travel to play Ajax on matchday eight.

The positives are undoubtedly that, with a weekend off of playing in the Super League, all players should be at the disposal of Jose Luis Mendilibar. 

Even star striker Ayoub El Kaabi is likely to be part of the squad despite traveling back from the AFCON final the day before.

Supporters expect the result against PAOK to be put behind them for this game and show much more of what this group of players and the coach is capable of at their best. 

While some of the online rhetoric has been hugely overinflated, Olympiakos do owe it to the fans and themselves to get a victory tomorrow. 

A win would mean quashing the never-ending negativity from naysayers and, more importantly, put Olympiakos in a very strong position to reach the Champions League playoffs.


@SteveKountourou

Hellas Football







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Football players who could’ve played for the Greek national team but didn’t

Image
Football players who could’ve played for the Greek national team but didn’t By Stephen Kountourou As Ethniki fans, we appreciate those who choose to represent Greece over another nation. It may come from tribalism, national pride, and a close connection with Greek culture. If a football player decides to play for Greece, they also represent us.  It's why supporters were thrilled at the news that Odysseus Vlachodimos, who was born in Germany, was convinced to be the starting goalkeeper for the last decade.  Why the late George Baldock’s passing wrenched at the hearts of every Greek who saw him line up in blue and white. Or most recently, after months of anticipation, Konstantinos Karetsas chose Greece over Belgium, despite being one of the highest-rated young talents in Europe right now, and lit up Hampden Park in our 0-3 victory over Scotland. However, some players do the opposite, for one reason or another, choose to play for a different national team despite having the optio...
Read more

The biggest Greek football clubs outside of the Super League from every region

Image
 The biggest Greek football clubs outside of the Super League from every region By Stephen Kountourou                           Credit: Riccardo D'Agnese (Check out his maps that you can purchase online) How does one estimate how big a football club really is? Some estimate it by accolades, others by the age of a club, how long they have competed at the top level, how well supported they are worldwide, or how wealthy they are, with enough pulling power to attract the best players.  Ultimately, it remains a topic that has been and will continue to be heavily debated among football fans. Then there is me, a fence-sitter, who says it is a bit of everything mentioned above. There is little debate, however, about who the big boys of Greek football are. The traditional big four of Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, AEK, and PAOK have dominated Greek football, more or less, since its inception.  Among the teams currently c...
Read more

Top 10 Chants in Greek Football

Image
Top 10 Chants in Greek Football By Nick Tsambouniaris, Greek ultras are known around the world for their passionate support. Atmospheres at games are electric to say the least as fans act as the 12 th man for their team. Here are my top 10 chants in Greek football with a hyperlink to the YouTube video of them being belted out in full glory. 10. AEK – RE BIN LADEN This cheeky party starter aimed at Olympiakos from AEK’s Original 21 makes it as number 10. As you can see in the below link, every single fan is jumping and singing along with purpose, making for a great atmosphere. 10. AEK – RE BIN LADEN 9. PAOK – IRTHAME SKASTOI APO TIN KLINIKI Gate 4 of PAOK are notoriously known for creating an intimidating atmosphere wherever they go. This particular chant gets extra points for its climax ending when the fans rise from the ground as one jumping all over the place. The chant itself is also funny and sums up the passion of Greek football fans in general as it says they...
Read more