Olympiakos vs PSV Europa League Round of 32 Preview

Olympiakos vs PSV

Europa League Round of 32 Preview

By Steve Kountourou

After a couple of months break, continental football finally returns this week in the form of the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League. With so many huge clashes coming up which will eventually shape who reaches the final of both competitions, undoubtedly the most anticipated tie of any has to be the fascinating Round of 32 tie between Olympiakos and PSV, no bias there at all. 

Upon the Greek Champions drawing one of Hollands biggest sides many Thrylos fans, myself included, believe it certainly is reasonable think that Olympiakos should be able to compete with the Eindhoven side.That is not to say this game will be by any means an easy one but before I fully go into this preview I shall simply say that if Thrylos want to be taken seriously in Europe at home and on the continent, then they have to be matching and surpassing teams like this. The question is, can they do it? 

Well it just so happens that this week I will be taking a look at just that, previewing this Europa League tie and how both teams fared on the weekend (cries a little inside), how I would like to see the team set up and play, while also giving my prediction at the end.

How Both Teams fared over the Weekend

Both sides are coming off of the back of rather disappointing results from the weekends domestic football.

Olympiakos

Olympiakos in particular had a rather poor time on Sunday as they were well beaten by eternal rivals Panathinaikos. Thrylos started the game with a couple of first team rotations, as manager Pedro Martins sighted the importance of the upcoming tie against PSV. The Portuguese coach opted for the 4-3-3 with Tiago Silva starting over the injured Yann M'Vila. Kostas Fortounis started on the wing along with Hassan upfront after his fantastic performance in the Greek Cup during midweek. Bruma was also still missing after picking up an injury too and most likely would have started this game. None of these factors however excuse the sides rather lackluster performance against a Panathinaikos side that looked much more up for this derby then Olympiakos did. 

The Prasini took the lead in the first 6 minutes thanks to an unmarked Mauricio heading the ball past Jose Sa and putting PAO 1-0 at home. Olympiakos continued to dominate proceedings but over the course of the game missed three or four huge chances to equalise. These misses would prove costly as their Athenian rivals doubled their lead through new signing Younousse Sankhare fifteen minutes from time. Substitute El Arabi pulled one back nine minutes later but it was too little too late and PAO claimed a much deserved 2-1 victory over Olympiakos.       

 

PSV

While the Dutch side did not lose, they still dropped points during this weekend's Dutch Eredivisie against Den Haag. After going 1-0 down at half time PSV responded well with a double from Donyell Malen who is one of the danger men that Olympiakos need to watch out for this coming week. With a whopping 35 shots and 15 on target, the title chasers dominated this game, but in added time, Michiel Kramer popped up with a late equaliser to make it 2-2 and PSV lost further ground on Ajax for the league title. 

 

How I would like to see the team set up

To start with how I think Thrylos should set up, I believe formation wise, the 4-2-3-1 as usual is the way to go. 4-3-3 has been inconsistent and saps much of our creativity from the midfield despite having a man extra in central midfield. 4-4-2, while having its benefits is not as tried and tested as Pedro Martins might like so sticking to what we are good at is what I would like to see.

Sa starting in goal is a no brainer, I think that while Lala would be great to see play in a big game like this, I would trust Androutsos to start at right back. The centre back pairing with Semedo, suspended will be Ba and Sokratis who haven't quite found their footing as a partnership but this would be the match to do it if ever. Left back will certainly be Oleg as he can bring the great blend of attacking runs cross and tracking back we need. 

Camara and M'Vila, if the Frenchman is fit, should be the midfield two. The defensive cover he brings to the back line as well as regaining possession to counter is huge and the tireless running of Mady who can create something out of nothing. 

The three advanced midfielders are also fairly self explanatory for me. On both wings the Ethrylolefki need Vrousai and Bruma, both of whom marry crossing potential, the ability to cut inside and attempt a shot, and switching play with the fullbacks. They also have valuable experience from their time playing in Holland so PSV will be an opponent they will be familiar with. In the number ten it's simple, Kostas Fortounis needs to start. I would not be opposed to Valbuena there but to drop the team's most talented player in a match like this will send waves of frustration throughout Thrylos fans.

Up top will be El Arabi. The Moroccan forward is still as sharp as ever and it's his time to 

prove he can still do it on the European stage.

What we can expect then playing against PSV

Judging by how they have played over the season, this PSV side while maybe not as talented as league title winning sides that have come before them is still a force to be reckoned with. They seem to be very much a dynamic attacking threat and have no trouble with scoring and creating shots and opportunities. This means any mistakes that are made by their opponents, they are able to punish decisively. This can also be said for themselves as while their attacks are firing on all fronts, their defence is not always the most solid and this is what Olympiakos need to take advantage of. Thrylos need to be the ones to attack early on and unsettle their backline and try to score, because we have seen the Greek champions go behind early too many times in Europe this season and at some point, that needs to change.

Injuries and Suspensions 

Olympiakos

There are not any massively noteworthy injuries from the Thrylos camp going into this game currently. Avraam Papadopoulos is still out, although he would have been unlikely to feature in this tie either way. Bruma should be fully fit for Thursday after having a minor injury stopping him from playing against Panathinaikos. Same goes for Yann M'Vila who was in the squad for Sunday's fixture but not on the bench.

 

PSV

The Dutch side seem to have a host of players out injured and will properly not feature in the first leg at least. Centre back Nick Viergever is out with a knock, World Cup winner Mario Gotze is also unavailable with a groin injury. Richard Ledezma, Cody Gakpo, Nini Madueke and Maximiliano Romero all attacking players and all out injured so the list for PSV is pretty extensive.

Prediction 

Finally after talking about everything to the best of my ability, I will give my prediction for this first leg tie in Piraeus. The defeat against Panathinaikos I hope, for use of a better phrase, will give Olympiakos a kick up the ass to go on and perform better than they have more recently in Europe. As I have stated previously PSV are not going to be by any means an easy team to compete against. They have the attacking threat and the production of chance creation to really hurt opponents who are defending against them, but they are beatable. 

The Greek Champions, even without home fans, need to win the first leg at home if they stand themselves any chance or progressing to the round of 16. The defence needs to be much more focused than previously against the Prasini. The chances they could not put away on Sunday must be converted this time around. If this does not happen, it'll be the same story and same disappointment for fans of Olympiakos, to have a talented team crumble early in Europe and having to waiting until next season to once again have hope that the side going can finally go to the next level and be seen as a competitive side in continental football. IF, and this is a big if, Pedro Martins side can learn from their mistakes from Sunday and prepare themselves mentally for the task at hand then I believe that they will win this game. If they make a nervy start in Piraeus and PSV take advantage of that, then it is going to be a long 90 minutes for both the players and the supporters watching at home. For now though I am going to remain positive and say that Olympiakos win this game 2-1.

Hellas Football 

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