Will Olympiakos at least make it to the group stage of the EL?
The season could not have started worse for Olympiakos Piraeus and Slovan Bratislava. Both teams were eliminated from the top flight after all. Olympiakos was eliminated by Maccabi Haifa, Slovan Bratislava by Ferencvaros. Now the two CL losers meet in the qualification for the Europa League.
In the first leg, Olympiakos Piraeus benefits from home advantage and is rated as the comparatively clear favourite by the best bookmakers. If the “Thrylos” wins this time at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, betting odds of 1.38 for tip 1 are paid out for Olympiakos Piraeus vs Slovan Bratislava. In case of success of the Eastern European guests, however, odds of up to 9.00 are offered.
Olympiakos and Slovan Bratislava already met last season in the EL qualifiers. In the play-offs, Olympiakos beat the Slovaks by a combined score of 5-2 to extend their record against Slovan Bratislava to 3-1-0.
Slovan Bratislava showed an act of defiance after last weekend’s crushing defeat to Ferencvaros, recording a 4-2 win over Michalovce in their dress rehearsal ahead of their match against Olympiakos. If Slovan take the momentum with them to Piraeus, a goal success at the Greek record champions cannot be ruled out.
Olympiakos Piraeus – Statistics & current form
Olympiakos have once again failed to qualify for the Champions League. As in the last season, the “Thrylos” from Piraeus again missed the jump to the group stage of the premier league. This time there was even the super-GAU for Olympiakos, after all, the Greek record champion still lost the home advantage after a 1:1 away.
Olympiakos suffered a bitter 4-0 defeat against Maccabi Haifa in the second leg of the second CL qualifying round. It was the Red and Whites’ highest home defeat on the international stage. This was the second time in a row that Olympiakos lost an international match at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
Nevertheless, Olympiakos will start the home match against Slovan Bratislava with a broad chest. The “Thrylos” have already met Slovan twice in their own stadium, and Olympiakos won both home games. Olympiakos Piraeus celebrated one of the two home victories in last season’s EL play-offs, where the Red and Whites even kept their clean sheet with a 3-0 home win.
Allaying of frustration for Olympiakos Piraeus?
After the bitter defeat against Maccabi Haifa, Olympiakos now have the chance to make amends. The red and white team from Piraeus will start the match against Slovan Bratislava under the leadership of new head coach Carlos Corberan. Previously, successful coach Pedro Martins was sacked after the bitter home defeat against Maccabi (0:4).
Although Corberan only had a short time to settle in as the new coach, a show of defiance under the Spaniard cannot be ruled out. After all, most of the players in the squad will be available for the 39-year-old’s coaching debut in Piraeus. Only Cumic, who has been injured for a long time, will have to take a break.
Because Olympiakos did not make a good impression in the matches against Maccabi, it remains to be seen how much Corberan will change the starting eleven of the Greek record champions. There is enough room for rotation, after all, the red and whites are adequately staffed across the board.
Predicted line-up of Olympiakos Piraeus:
Vaclik; Vrsaljko, Manolas, Cisse, Reabciuk; M’Vila, Kane, Carvalho; El-Arabi, Tiquinho, Valbuena
Last matches played by Olympiakos Piraeus:
Champions League Qualification
28/07/2022 – Olympiakos Piraeus 0 – 4 Maccabi Haifa
20/07/2022 – Maccabi Haifa 1 – 1 Olympiakos Piraeus
Friendly club matches
10/07/2022 – Olympiakos Piraeus 1 – 0 AZ Alkmaar
02/07/2022 – RB Salzburg 3 – 1 Olympiakos Piraeus
24/06/2022 – Ried 2 – 0 Olympiakos Piraeus
Slovan Bratislava – Statistics & current form
Slovan Bratislava are burning for revenge. The “Belasi” already failed against Olympiakos Piraeus last season and had to continue their international adventure in the group stage of the Conference League after an overall result of 2:5 in the EL playoffs. This time, Slovan will face the Greek record champions in the third round of the EL qualifiers.
Just like Thursday’s opponents, Slovan Bratislava also failed to qualify for the Champions League. Surprisingly, the Slovakian record champion had set the course for the next round in the first leg against Ferencvaros. The “Belasi” managed a well-deserved 2-1 comeback victory away from home against the Magyars.
However, Slovan lost the second leg at home 4-1, conceding two of the three goals in the closing minutes and forfeiting any chance of extra time. A few days after the defeat against Ferencvaros, Slovan at least showed an act of defiance in the Slovakian top flight and celebrated a 4-2 victory.
Slovan Bratislava warmed up
The attacking department of the “Belasi” shone again in the 4:2 win against Michalovce. Slovan Bratislava have already scored eleven goals in their last four matches – an average of almost three goals per match. If the Slovakian record champions carry the momentum into their next match, they should also score at least one goal at Olympiakos.
Head coach Vladimir Weiss will have to do without several players for the first leg in Piraeus due to injury. At the moment, Rabiu, Sulla, Chobot and Ramirez are four players on the list of the “Belasi”. In addition, Saponjic will also have to sit out after his latest yellow card and will not be available.
Weiss will therefore be forced to make some changes to the starting eleven. Up front, Medved is the only fit striker against Olympiakos Piraeus.
Predicted line-up of Slovan Bratislava:
Chovan; Medvedev, Kashia, Abena, De Marco; Barseghyan, Kucka, Kankava, Pauschek; Weiss; Saponjic
Last matches played by Slovan Bratislava:
Super League
30/07/2022 – Slovan Bratislava 4 – 2 Zemplin Michalovce
Champions League Qualifier
28/07/2022 – Slovan Bratislava 1 – 4 Ferencvaros
Super League
23/07/2022 – Slovan Bratislava 4 – 0 Trencin
Champions League Qualifier
21/07/2022 – Ferencvaros 1 – 2 Slovan Bratislava
Super League
17/07/2022 – Zeleziarne Podbrezova 2 – 1 Slovan Bratislava
Olympiakos Piraeus – Slovan Bratislava Direct comparison / H2H record
Olympiakos Piraeus and Slovan Bratislava meet for the fifth time in their club history. The “Thrylos” from Piraeus remained unbeaten in all four matches against the Slovakian record champions. Olympiakos even won a total of three out of four competitive matches, including the home match in last season’s EL play-offs.
At home, Olympiakos beat Slovan Bratislava 3-0 in the 2021/22 EL qualifying play-offs. The second leg in Slovakia ended in a 2-2 draw, meaning Olympiakos advanced to the group stage of the Europa League. Slovan, on the other hand, were relegated to the group stage of the Conference League.
Olympiakos Piraeus – Slovan Bratislava Tip
Both teams failed miserably in the CL qualifiers. After good results away from home, Olympiakos and Slovan Bratislava squandered home advantage in the second leg and slipped into EL qualification. It was a bitter setback for Olympiakos in particular, as the Greek record champions missed out on a place in the top flight for the second time in a row.
Now the red and whites from Piraeus have a chance to limit the damage. The matches against Slovan Bratislava will be played under the leadership of the new head coach Corberan. The Spaniard had taken over the team only a few days ago after the dismissal of Pedro Martins and now enters his first competitive match as the new coach of Olympiakos.
Although Olympiakos produced a disastrous performance in their last competitive match on the international stage and were thoroughly outplayed by Maccabi Haifa, we do not rule out a show of defiance after the recent coaching change at the “Thrylos”. Olympiakos were already successful against their opponents from Bratislava last season.
We therefore expect a home win for the red and whites this time as well, which will extend their home record against Slovan to 3-0-0. Our betting odds for Olympiakos Piraeus vs. Slovan Bratislava are 2.00 on “HT/FT: 1/1”. We are using five units to do so.
