Omonia vs Olympiakos, UCL Playoffs 2nd Leg

Omonia vs Olympiakos, UCL Playoffs 2nd Leg 

By Stephen Kountourou,



With one match to go until European sides in the qualifiers reach the promised land of the Champions League Group stage, the result of last week's first leg tie between Olympiakos and Omonia, which ended 2-0 to the Greek Champions, is a healthy gap to take to the 2nd leg in Cyprus. 


While Thrylos should feel confident in not having the tie overturned, as they make their way to the Cypriot capital of Nicosia, Omonia at home cannot be underestimated and they could still spring a surprise upset albeit, having to score three goals to go through over their Greek counterparts. 


So despite going over the vast majority of head to head records , key players and what not, I will be briefly taking a look at the UCL Playoff second leg between Omonia and Olympiakos.   


Previously in Piraeus…


Although most people know the result of last week's 1st leg in Piraeus I will do a short overview. Thrylos started the first half by dominating the match in both possession and shot against the Cypriot side, but Omonia stuck to their defensive guns and soaked up much of the Olympiakos pressure. After some stalwart defending from the away side for much of the game, Thrylos were able to find a much needed opener, as Lazar Randjelovic had a pressure put on him in the opponent's box by Jan Lecjaks, causing the Omonia defender to give away a penalty in the process via a hand ball. 


Valbuena stepped up and comfortably slotted it home to give his side a deserved 1-0 lead in the 69th minute. With the deadlock broken, Olympiakos continued to pressure their opponents for a 2nd, decisive goal, to put the tie almost completely in their favour. It came late on in stoppage time, as striker El Arabi, powered home a long range effort not only putting his side 2-0 up but ending his goal drought that spanned over nine games. 


What happened to both sides since the 1st Leg 


In the time both sides played each other in Piraeus Olympiakos played their second domestic fixture of the season, comfortably defeating Panetolikos 2-0 thanks to goals from El Arabi, who seems to have found his goal scoring form again, and Cafu who looks at though he has not only scored his last goal, but played his last game for the club amid a possible departure to Nottingham Forest. 


Omonia meanwhile, were unable to play their league match against Apollon Limassol, after an Omonia player tested positive for Covid19, postponing the fixture to a later date. 


This means while the Cypriot side had more time to rest for the 2nd leg in Nicosia, Olympiakos will also have the advantage, having played a competitive fixture more recently and will have more match fitness from it.


Injuries or squad changes for both sides 


Omonia


For the most part, the Omonia squad is fully fit for their home encounter with Olympiakos, the exception being the unnamed player who has tested positive for Covid19 and until any other updates are given by the club, it is unclear whether other players have tested positive since. 


Costa Rican forward David Ramirez remains sidelined with a cruciate ligament injury and is the only definite unavailable member of the squad.


Olympiakos


Much like the home side, Olympiakos seem to have their house in order, with Fortounis rested over the weekends win against Panetolikos, after a slight knock, and is readily available for Tuesday nights match. 


Mohamed Drager, who only signed for the club on Sunday is the only notable player to miss out, but probably would have been included in the squad otherwise.

 

My Final Thoughts 


Without an away goal conceded, Olympiakos have already put one foot over the line in reaching the Champions League group stage, all they need to do now is avoid defeat in Cyprus by more than two goals and they will seal their very lucrative fate. 


For Omonia it is a bit of a mountain to climb but as I said previously, they are capable of an upset but it is highly unlikely, and they have done well throughout the qualifying process to, at the very least, fall into the Europa League group stage. It will still be their first time the Cypriot side has entered a European competition in its current format. 


I believe that Olympiakos will sneak a 0-1 away win in Nicosia but a draw is not out of the question either.


Hellas Football 


Follow @stevekountourou

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