Ferencvaros will host Olympiacos in the Round of 16 of the Europa Conference League. The visitors have a slim lead going into the Hungarian capital after winning the first leg 1-0 last week.
Preview (Ferencvaros vs. Olympiacos)
For the greater part of the first leg, Ferencvaros appeared to hold Olympiacos to a goalless draw. Ayoub El Kaabi’s break in the 83rd minute ensured that Ferencvaros would suffer a narrow loss in Greece. Ferencvaros had a week to mull over a setback that ended their four-game winning streak. They had no game over the weekend. They have won four of their six home games in the Europa Conference League this season. The hosts on Thursday are still very much in the tie. But in their last two European home games, against Genk and Fiorentina, Dejan Stankovic’s team had to settle for 1-1 draws.
It would be Ferencvaros’ first victory in a two-leg tie in the main draw of a UEFA competition. They defeated Copenhagen on penalties in the 2003–04 season if they managed to overcome the first-leg deficit. Since taking over as head coach of Olympiacos earlier this month, former Sevilla manager Jose Luis Mendilibar has had a promising debut as a manager outside of Spain. In the Greek Super League encounter on Saturday, Mendilibar oversaw his team’s resounding 4-1 victory over rivals PAOK, following his 1-0 triumph over Ferencvaros in his debut game.
After PAOK equalized through goals from Daniel Podence and Fran Navarro, El Kaabi scored twice off the bench to seal a third straight win across all competitions. The next challenge for Mendilibar will be to have Olympiacos playing well while touring Europe. The Greek team finished second in their Europa League group stage with two draws and two losses. It ultimately proved to be a major contributing factor to their subsequent relegation to the Europa Conference League.
Team News
Adam Halmai has been out of the lineup for a while. Stankovic should have the bulk of his team available. Despite his team’s close loss in Greece, Stankovic may choose to start the second leg with the same roster on Thursday. Barnabas Varga, a forward for Ferencvaros who has scored 22 goals in 25 competitive games this season, will be one of the key goal threats for the home team.
Regarding the guests, it is probable that they will not have the assistance of Gordon Leidner, Gelson Martins, and Bandiougou Fadiga. Following several adjustments over the weekend, Mendilibar was able to bring back Georgios Masouras, Joao Carvalho, and Andreas Ntoi. El Kaabi, who led the line on Thursday, will be seeking to build on his strong play, having scored four goals in his last three games.
Ferencvaros 1-1 Olympiacos
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