Olympiakos, Champions League Group Stage Build Up

Olympiakos, Champions League Group Stage Build Up

By Steve Kountourou

Now that the International break is once again done and dusted, we return to club football and just as excitingly, the European competitions. Sides from all over the continent, while also focusing on their domestic leagues, will be in preparation to face one another in either the Champions League or the Europa League. The same can certainly be said for Olympiakos. After hearing news of our players performing well for their respective national team, I know I am as excited as any to see Thrylos come back together again, after a couple of weeks away, and so case our talented side on Europe's biggest stage. But the task, like most years if far from easy, for lying in wait in Group C are three sides that could define our seasons for all the right or all the wrong reasons. For the few that may not know by now, they are Premier League giants Manchester City, Portuguese champions Porto and Ligue 1 runners up Marseille. 

While not as daunting a task as last season's group stage, there is more to gain and yet also more to lose in this time around. I echo the same opinion as many other Olympiakos supporters. If the stars align and we can take enough points from these three sides, there is a genuine chance we could finish second and enter the round of 16 for the first time since 2013/14, despite many already writing us off. But if we have a poor start and are unable to gain momentum in this group, we will be punished, finish 4th and be out of Europe by the end of the calendar year. Or at the very least, finish 3rd again to compete in the Europa League. So with lots to play for, in this weeks blog I will be taking dive into Group C, looking at each team, giving my opinion on how the Greek Champions might shape up against them as well as my thoughts on the squad manager Pedro Martins as chosen and then give a cheeky prediction for this group at the end.   

Marseille Struggling but still dangerous 

Let's start with the side that Olympiakos will face first, in French side Olympique De Marseille managed by former Porto, Chelsea, Spurs and Zenit head coach Andre Villas Boas. I am going to dub this encounter the derby of Olympians, as both sides share similar names. Unoriginal I know. This was one of the more undesirable teams I would not have liked to have been drawn for us from pot 4 as, despite their form which I will talk about, they are still a big European side with big players that could hurt Thrylos chances of pressing on either European path. I will also however, be so bold as to say, that they are the weakest side of Olympiakos opponents While they should not be underestimated, this is the side that we need to get points from and will be competing with to at least finish 3rd in the group, especially as our first game of the group stage is against them. Even with no fans, a win at home would be a huge start to our Champions League campaign. 

Previously in European competition, Olympiakos have played Marseille four times over the decades. Firstly in the UEFA Cup First Round way back in 1994/95 when Thrylos were defeated in both legs, 1-2 in Piraeus and 3-0 in Stade Vélodrome. They would not face each other again until 2011/12 in the Champions League group stage. This time both sides broke even, with Olympiakos losing once again in Piraeus 0-1 but this time winning away 0-1 in France. Standing at one win, three losses, two goals scored and six conceded for Olympiakos, currently it is the former Champions League winners that have the better record compared to their Greek counterparts.    

 

Looking at their league form since the start of the new season, at first Marseille started brightly, with a 2-3 win away to Brest and a massive 0-1 in Paris to bitter rivals PSG. Since that result however they are winless in four games, having promptly lost 0-2 at home to Yann M'Vila’s former club Saint Etienne and drawn 1-1 to Lille, Metz and Lyon respectively. Despite this not being the worst run of form it certainly shows that, while not winning and also struggling to score, a side containing top players like Florian Thauvin, Dimitri Payet, new loan signing Michaël Cuisance and their captain in goal Steve Mandanda, are still hard to beat over 90 minutes. Two of those first three games involved late goals from Marseille to snatch a point at the death. This is something Olympiakos need to be careful of going into this game, as a one goal lead will not be enough of a cushion to guarantee victory against this opposition. Marseille capped off their weekend Ligue 1 fixture, before traveling to Piraeus, with a comfortable 3-1 Win over Bordeaux.

 

As said before I have high hopes for our first game of the group stage against Villas-Boas men and while I wont make any actual score line predictions in this blog, I will once again stress that these two games against Matheu Valbuena's former side are must wins. I hope that our French veteran can return home to show his former club that he, just like Olympiakos, are still more than a match for them. 

 

Porto Best Worst Possible Draw

Why do I think Porto is the best worst draw? For me, despite the fact that Porto was one of the top seeded teams in the Champions League draw, we have been very fortunate in having them in our group. That is not to say that the Portuguese champions are by any means pushovers, more that when comparing most of the other teams we could have drawn, it is more reasonable to believe that Olympiakos can compete with this Porto side for 2nd place. This will be an especially story driven affair as Thrylos manager Pedro Martins, along with a fair few players that are Portuguese natives, will be returning to their native home to prove a point against the very best Liga NOS has to offer.

 

Over six fixtures previously played between the two teams, Olympiakos just about boast the better record. Their first encounter was during the 1997-98 season group stages, when Stelios Giannakopoulos scored 'that goal' in front of a packed out Athens Olympic stadium to give his side a 1-0. The away fixture went in favour of Porto as they defeated Olympiakos 2-1. The very next season in 1998/99 the Portuguese side would face an Olympiakos, which would go on to have it's best run to date in the competition and reach the quarter finals. Thrylos won 2-1 at home, and away in Porto, it was two late goals from Giannakopoulos and Gogic that gave their side a comeback 2-2 draw. For the third and final season in a row, the two sides would face each other in the group stage, with Olympiakos winning 1-0 at home to another Giannakopoulos strike. Much like before, away in Porto was too much and they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to their opponents. That leaves Olympiakos record against Porto standing at three wins, one draw and two loss, with the Piraeus side undefeated at home, but winless away in Portugal, as well as an even goal difference of seven scored, seven conceded.

 

The Dragons' start to the season so far has also been a mixed bag. After a solid start with two wins against Braga and Boavista, 3-1 at home and 0-5 away respectively, they were undone at home 2-3 by Maritimo, a side they were expected to beat. With the end of the international break, Porto played rivals Sporting CP in an exciting match that ended in a 2-2 draw, ahead of their Champions League First round clash with Manchester City. 

 

Much like Marseille, this Porto side cannot be underestimated. With a squad containing the likes of, two time former Olympiakos loan defender Ivan Marcano, West Ham Loaned Felipe Anderson, former transfer target at left back, Zaidu Sanusi, not to mention former PAOK loan midfielder Sergio Oliveira, there are defiantly individuals in this side that could hurt Thylos on all areas of the pitch. With the Greek champions, match day 6 and final group stage game against Porto at home, this could be a very hotly contested affair if both sides have either everything to gain, or lose, in that fixture.     

 

Manchester City Favourites but not unbeatable 

Last but not least, it's Manchester City, managed by legendary former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola. I am going to say something that will certainly divide opinions. This is the best possible time to play Manchester City and there is a genuine possibility of getting points against them this season. If we had drawn City in the last few seasons I would have said to you there is no chance of getting anything as they were at their peak. Now with that being said, I do still think they are the favourites to finish top and they still, on paper, are the strongest side in this group.

 

Olympiakos have never previously played Manchester City in any competition, other than a friendly match during the 2014 International Champions Cup, where the Piraeus side defeated the Citizens on penalties. Instead I will take a brief look at Thrylos record with English sides as they have faced a numerous amount over the years, while also looking at City's record against Greek opposition. Of the thirty four times Olympiakos have competed against English opposition in European football, it has been a very mixed bag. Nine wins six draws and nineteen losses in total, not to mention 34 goals scored and 68 conceded. 

City on the other hand, have a much simpler record, with their only encounter with a Greek team coming against Aris in the Europa League group stage, ten years ago in 2010/11. The Citizens ran out 3-0 winners at home and despite a 0-0 draw in Thessaloniki, that is still an undefeated record vs Greek sides for them. As an additional fun fact, Pep Guardiola is undefeated against Olympiakos, having managed Bayern Munich side in 2015/16, that demolished Thrylos 0-3 at home and 4-0 away in Bavaria. 

 

City began their bid to reclaim the Premier League title a week later than everyone else as their first match with Aston Villa was postponed. A week later however they did manage to defeat Wolves 1-3 away at Molineux, but the score line flattered to deceive with Man City not looking strong at all at the back, and had Wolves been more clinical things could have been very different. The next match which was where the Citizens really showed their true colours. Leicester City ran out 2-5 winners against Guardiola's men thanks to numerous counter attacking runs that punished City's high defensive line and allowed Jamie Vardy to score a hat trick. Something Thrylos could definitely take notes from when they eventually play against them. Their next performance against newly promoted Leeds United, while a 1-1 draw away was an improved result on their part. Their last league fixture, before their Champions League match against Porto, was a real test against Arsenal. But they were able to overcome the Gunners at the Etihad with a 1-0 win. 

 

With Manchester City playing a high defensive line, and the counter attacking style we have adopted to play in Europe with the 4-3-3 could be a way in which we get our main way of creating quality chances and scoring against the citizens. Even with the addition of former Benfica defender Ruben Dias, City will still be susceptible to making mistakes if we are clinical enough. Despite all of this, I am not saying that Thrylos can definitely beat this City side over the double header on match days three and four. They still boast fantastic attacking talent and could punish us for mistakes just as much as we could to them. I am also hopeful of getting at least enough points in the first two games against Marseille and Porto so that getting points off of the English side is not essential.    

 

Quick thoughts on the Thrylos Squad 

Just to quickly touch on the Olympiakos squad that has been chosen for the Champions League group stages, overall I am happy with the inclusions. Soudani coming back and looking sharp in the recent Friendly matches, will feel like a new signing, as well as pretty much all of the regular first team players being fit for these upcoming games. At the time of writing, Ruben Vinagre who was injured during a Portugal under 21s fixture, but should  be fit and available for the first game against Marseille. I was interested to see that new signing Tiago Silva was not included in the list of players but I do not think it will be a big miss as he has only just joined the club. 

Final Thoughts

As this has been a rather lengthy blog I will make this finishing note brief. Olympiakos' aim in this group should very much be to finish second. The Greek champions have a deep enough squad and good enough quality players to at the very least be competitive against all the teams in this groups, that does not mean they should win every game that would be an unrealistic expectation but, at the same time we should not resign ourselves to another Third place finish. While I would not see Europa League football next calendar year as a disappointment by any means, I would see it as an opportunity missed on actually having a realistic chance of reaching the UCL round of 16 for the first time in over half a decade. This is going to be an extremely competitive group, but with form players for both club and country coming back from the international break to play Atromitos this weekend, Thrylos need a statement win in that game to give them momentum for Wednesday and a return to Champions League nights. My final prediction, if we win our first game next week against Marseille, and for once I will be optimistic, I will say that Olympiakos finish 2nd in Group C.

Hellas Football 

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