West Ham United vs Olympiakos: 
UEFA Europa League Group Stage Preview

By Stephen Kountourou 

Europa League Match Day Four: 09/11/23

Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time

Venue: The London Stadium 

Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 6 HD

Last Time in the Europa League 

A night where everything went right. Something that felt like it hadn't happened to Olympiakos for a long time in Europe. But on Match Day Three at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, that is exactly what happened. Thrylos, against Premier League side West Ham United, played the perfect game running out 2-1 winners in front of their home fans, who also put on an exceptional atmosphere. 

A superb strike from Kostas Fortounis, a fortunate but important deflected effort from Rodinei just before half-time. The Hammers did give the home side a bit of a scare late on with a brilliant strike from Lucas Paqueta, but Olympiakos held on for a famous victory which gave their supporters the kind of night in Europe they have been craving. 

Diego Martinez, who switched to the 4-4-3 got his tactics spot on with the extra man in midfield making it very hard for David Moyes to create anything throughout most of the game with Mady Camara, Sotris Alexandropoulos and Santiago Hezze running riot. Piraeus came back to bite the Scottish coach once again, having also tasted defeat nearly 10 years ago while in charge of Manchester United. 

The big surprise of the match was undoubtedly Jackson Porozo, who deputised excellently for the injured Nicolas Freire and suspended Andreas Ndoj. After a confidence-boosting win against the favourites to top their group, Olympiakos well and truly kick-started their Europa League campaign. 

Recent Results

West Ham

The Hammers played three times since the defeat against Olympiakos. First, they returned from Piraeus to host Premier League strugglers Everton where once again they tasted defeat. A second-half goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave David Moyes's former side the 0-1 win on the road. 

A more positive result followed as West Ham knocked a rotated Arsenal out of the League Cup, in a 3-1 win. After an own goal from Ben White gave the Hammers the early lead, Mohammed Kudos and Jarrod Bowen scored in the second half 3-0. Martin Ødegaard scored a consolation goal for the Gunners, but West Ham saw out their first victory in five games in all competitions. 

Upon returning to the Premier League West Ham was defeated away to fellow London side Brentford. Despite going 1-2 up at halftime, an unfortunate own-goal by Konstantinos Mavropanos, and a Nathan Collins winner, saw a 3-2 defeat for the Hammers, adding to the pressure on David Moyes. 

Olympiakos 

After the famous win against West Ham, Thrylos travelled to Crete where they faced OFI. Without the injured Fortounis and Rodinei, Diego Martinez's side comfortably defeated the Cretans with Podence grabbing a brace in a 0-2 win.

With momentum seemingly behind them, Olympiakos returned to Piraeus to face PAOK in the derby. After an encouraging first half an hour, which saw Podence force a double save from Dominik Kotarski, the Thessaloniki side took the lead through Andrija Živković, which changed the whole reflection of the game. 

In the second half, Olympiakos began to capitulate psychologically, as Brandon scored a brace and Magomed Ozdoyev scored to make it 0-4. Kostas Fortounis and Giorgos Maouras both managed to grab two consolation goals but in the end, Thrylos fell apart in an embarrassing 2-4 defeat.

Interview with Sam Delaney

I spoke with journalist, author and broadcaster Sam Delaney, about West Ham and his thoughts going into the game at the London Stadium.

What were the biggest problems for West Ham in the defeat against Olympiacos?

“The team looked tired. We left out a few of our stars but that's no excuse as our squad depth is good and we always rotate players for European games. We hadn't lost in Europe for 18 matches so the result was a shock but Olympiacos certainly deserved the win. They were the better side.” 

After the match in Piraeus, how differently do you think David Moyes will approach the game against Olympiacos in London?

“I think he will want to win the group and have qualification to the next round confirmed sooner rather than later. For that reason I expect him to pick a stronger side than usual - sticking closely to the line-up he selects in the Premier League. We will be going all out for a win as you guys are the closest rivals we have for top spot in the group.” 

Ironically, West Ham plays Evangelos Marinakis’ other club Nottingham Forest this weekend. Which game do you think Moyes will prioritise?

“We are struggling in the Premier League and Moyes desperately needs a win. It is the outcome in the league that will decide his fate as our manager so he cannot afford to lose what would be a 4th defeat in a row. For this reason, he might hold back a couple of the most important players on Thursday night - Jaoord Bowen will probably start on the bench and only be used if we need a goal in the 2nd half.”

What are the expectations for this game for West Ham and going forward in the Europa League this season?

“We will be expecting to win this game. Our record in Europe for the past two years has been very good with a semi-final in 2022 and the conference trophy in 2023. Moyes will be looking to go one step further and win the Europa League in 2024. There is a belief we can achieve this with our current squad and the first step will be winning this group. To do so, we have to win on Thursday. Despite the fact we were well beaten in Greece, I do expect us to win at home.”

Final Thoughts

The defeat against PAOK was a huge blow for Thrylos fans. With an almost unchanged team from the West Ham game, which performed a miracle, the same side capitulated against in the derby. 

Diego Martinez and the leaders in the squad must help Olympiakos move forward to what will be an even tougher test than the one they faced in Piraeus two weeks ago. With the Hammers still struggling in the Premier League, this could be the best opportunity Olympiakos have to get another famous victory in London.