Olympiakos: Europa League Group Stage Build Up

Olympiakos: Europa League 

Group Stage Build Up

By Stephen Kountourou 

It’s that time of year again, continental club football is just around the corner. The group stages have been drawn and there are certainly some interesting ties for all football fans to look forward to in the three of UEFA’s official competitions. Olympiakos particularly have particularly fascinating opponents in this season's Europa League group stage, with Belgian side Royal Antwerp, Turkish side Fenerbahce and German side Frankfurt being drawn to play the Greek champions. 

This is certainly a tough but competitive group for Thrylos this campaign and to finish top or even second in group D will require complete concentration and hard work from Match Day 1 to Match Day 6 for Pedro Martins men if they have any hope of living up to the potential this team possess. 

They must use this chance now to rectify the failure to qualify for the Champions League and progress to the latter stages of this tournament instead. So for this week I will be doing a build up to the Thrylos Europa League group stage campaign, highlighting their opponents and what fans of the Greek champions can expect when Olympiakos comes up against these sides in the coming weeks. 

Antwerp, The First Test 

Let’s start with Olympiakos first opponent of the group stage, Royal Antwerp. The Belgian side enjoyed a successful campaign in last season's Pro League by finishing 3rd in the playoffs of the championship groups which is the same format used in the Greek Super League. Under former coach François Vercauteren, the oldest club in Belgium found great success in playing a dynamic 3-4-2-1 formation which was used to great effect for a larger part of the 2020/21 campaign. They have more recently this season resorted to a more rudimentary 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. 

On the surface, this seems like a very good first team to play against in the first game of the group stage for Olympiakos. Antwerp as a club perhaps lacks the experience in European competition compared to Thrylos and with a loud Karaiskakis crowd, could be overwhelmed by the occasion. They have also not had the best of starts to their league season thus far, with only one win in their first five matches at the time of writing. The caveat is that they had a very decent qualifying campaign to reach the Europa League proper, overcoming Cypriot champions Omonia over two legs in the playoffs. 

Another reminder is that Antwerp not only has a very good manager in Danish coach Biran Priske, who guided FC Midtjylland to the Danish League title last season but also have several players who could hurt Olympiakos if they are allowed to do so. Those players include former Ajax forward Viktor Fischer, former Roma and Inter midfielder Radja Nainggolan and former Olympiakos flop and Aston Villa defender Björn Engels. If Thrylos want to start their Europa League campaign right, they will need to win this first match against the Belgian side. 

Fenerbahce Noisy Neighbours

The next opponent for Thrylos in group D is Turkish side Fenerbahce. The team that also called themselves ‘The Legend’ had a very solid league campaign last season finishing comfortably in 3rd place and claiming a spot in the Europa League playoffs. They tended to play most of their 2020/21 season in 4-1-4-1 formation. But under former Olympiakos coach Vitor Pereira in his second stint at the Turkish side, he has set up Fenerbahce in a much more dynamic 3-4-3. 

This new system under the Portuguese coach has been a good fit for the Turkish side as they have had an excellent start to their league campaign, winning all of their opening five matches. They have also enjoyed a comfortable qualification process into the Europa League group stages, beating HJK Helsinki over two legs to advance.

This encounter with the Turkish side will not only be a tough prospect on the pitch but off it as well, as the supporters will be sure to create a hostile environment with the sentiments of supporters when a Greek and Turkish side facing each other occasionally is more than football related. 

Looking at this from a purely footballing perspective, however, Fenerbahce as well as their impressive style of play, boast several talented individuals who could be the difference-maker against Thrylos. The likes of former wonder kid Max Meyer, veteran midfielder and club captain Mesut Ozil, Ecuadorian forward Enner Valencia and former PAOK star Dimitris Pelkas just to name a few. Winning away in Turkey will be extremely difficult but fans of Thrylos will need to match the intimidating atmosphere in Piraeus to give their team as good a chance as possible to beat their opponent.

Eintracht Frankfurt, German Giants 

Of all the sides Olympiakos will face in this season's Europa League group stage, the German side Eintracht Frankfurt has been touted as the biggest challenge for Thrylos. Known by their fans as ‘The Eagles’, Frankfurt enjoyed a very impressive campaign last season in the Bundesliga. They comfortably finished 5th, missing out on the Champions League places by a single point to Wolfsburg, and instead entered the Europa League group stages automatically. Under then Austrian coach Adi Hütter, Frankfurt tended to set up in either 3-4-2-1 formation or a 3-4-1-2 towards the latter stages of last season. Both formations were used to great effect on the attacking front, scoring the third most goals in the league table.

With the current manager, Oliver Glasner, the German side have in more recent games reverted to a more traditional 4-2-3-1 although they have not had the best start to their 2021/22 campaign. After three league matches, they are winless, with two draws and one loss while also struggling to score goals in that time. 

While Frankfurt have lost a couple of key players, particularly up front in Luka Jovic and Andre Silva and they have started their domestic campaign poorly they are still certainly not a team to be underestimated. Their team is still comprised of decent players who could have a big performance against Olympiakos, including goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, tricky midfielder Filip Kostic and captain Sebastian Rode. 

Perhaps to a lesser extent, supporters of the Greek champions may also remember young Portuguese striker Gonçalo Paciência who previously was at the Piraeus side on loan and made one sole appearance in 2016. Even with their bluntness in front of goal so far this season Olympiakos cannot concede the silly chances they have during their European qualifiers as bigger and better teams like Frankfurt will capitalise even more on those costly errors.  

Prediction for the Group Overall

This one is a really hard one to call due to the competitiveness of this group. Anyone could so easily finish in opposite ends of Group D if certain sides do not step up to the plate over these six matches. This was already a tough task for Olympiakos. Even with a tough Europa League group all of their opponents have begun their league seasons with half a dozen matches under their belts. Thrylos on the other hand is only just beginning their season against Atromitos on Saturday. 

The positive however is that Olympiakos in comparison to the others does have a reasonably settled squad. Almost all of their key players are still at the club after the summer transfer window, as well as the strengthening of key areas throughout the pitch. I will bravely attempt to make a prediction on this group while being as diplomatic and unbiased as possible. 

IF and this is a big if, Olympiakos can gather themselves together and start the Greek Super League season right and also get a win on matchday one against Antwerp, that could be the momentum needed for Thrylos to finish second in this group and possibly even first. If they do not show a strong mentality early on, however, they could finish 3rd or even 4th and miss out on European football for the new year altogether. I will nervously predict that Erythrolefki will finish second place and have to compete in a playoff match against a Champions League side that drops down to the Europa League.

Hellas Football 

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