Olympiacos will host West Ham United in Group A of the Europa League. Although the Hammers might lead their next opponents by eight points, a loss would force it to be at least a three-horse fight to advance from Group A.
Preview (Olympiacos vs. West Ham United)
This season, David Moyes has stated several times that West Ham’s main goal is to compete in the Premier League and place in the top six. Having said that, the Hammers must work extremely hard in Europe to at least establish themselves as a fixture in the competition, given their current record of only one victory in five games in the top tier of England. West Ham finished Sunday’s 4-1 loss to Aston Villa in ninth place in the table.
On a positive note, West Ham have started their continental campaign in perfect fashion. They came from behind to defeat Backa Topola and see off Freiburg on away territory. It was theoretically their toughest game on paper. West Ham has conceded goals immediately after halftime on both occasions. It is something that Moyes will want to eradicate. The Scot knows that West Ham will remain in the box seat for a last-16 spot. From the perspective of Olympiacos, their only defeat in 2023-24 came at the hands of Freiburg. They beat them 3-2 at the Karaiskakis Stadium.
With a game remaining in the Greece Premier League, they are still ahead by two points. Due to a fireworks incident that injured an away player on Sunday, Olympiacos’ matchup with Panathinaikos had to be postponed. They will be keen to avoid any more crowd disturbances on Thursday. In a match when Olympiacos led 2-0, a 2-2 draw was recorded at Backa Topola. Diego Martinez is aware that if his team fails to perform against West Ham, the stakes will rise. Nevertheless, they have scored 14 goals in their last 410 football minutes across all competitions. It emphasizes the threat they provide to the defending Europa Conference League champions.
Team News
Due to his dismissal prior to the international break, defender Andreas Ndoj is serving a one-match ban, meaning Olympiacos will have to make at least one change. Daniel Podence, a loanee from Wolverhampton Wanderers, will start on the left wing and has already netted four goals since making the move last month. Lukasz Fabianski will start in goal for West Ham, despite Moyes likely selecting a more robust European starting lineup than normal.
The final third will undoubtedly feature Mohammed Kudus, while Michael Antonio might start in the middle instead of Jarrod Bowen, who was used there against Freiburg. Edson Alvarez could be replaced in midfield by Tomas Soucek, who was substituted for the last quarter against Villa. This may be a banana peel for West Ham, even with their current form in Europe. Olympiacos is often a formidable team at home. We believe the Premier League team will be able to defeat their next opponents.
Olympiacos 1 – 2 West Ham United
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