West Ham United will host Olympiacos in Group A of the Europa League on Thursday. In the rematch on matchday three, the Greek team defeated the Hammers 2-1. It completely dismantled West Ham’s English record of 17 games without a loss in Europe.
Preview (West Ham United vs. Olympiacos)
West Ham’s current unsettling run of play was exacerbated by their defeat in Piraeus. With another setback this past weekend, David Moyes’s team has now dropped four of their last five games. Days after their historic EFL Cup victory over Arsenal at the London Stadium, West Ham lost 3-2 to Brentford. Moyes must have been quite disappointed with how his team lost on Saturday. They were ahead 2-1 and Michael Antonio missed a fantastic opportunity to put them ahead 3-1.
Despite having a strong start to the season—winning 10 of their first 4 games—West Ham has allowed 11 goals in this bad run of play, which has exposed a weakness in their defense. As a result, they are now 11th in the Premier League. The Hammers have only won four of the last seven games, losing five of them. This fixture is under more strain now that they have suffered a setback in Europe. Their loss to Olympiacos on matchday three did not completely ruin their chances of winning the group. A further loss would probably mean their elimination.
Olympiacos’ strong recent record in the English city, where they have won their last two trips. They may potentially be psychologically advantageous. One of the most dramatic moments in the recent history of the competition was Youssef El Arabi’s incredible 120-minute winner in the round of 32 back in 2020. The Moroccan player repeated the feat in the following season’s last-16, but Olympiacos lost 3-2 on aggregate that time. Olympiacos lost the match, received a point deduction, and had to play two games behind closed doors as a result. Olympiacos now trail Pana by four points, with AEK Athens and PAOK following closely behind.
Team News
Kurt Zouma may be added back to the team for this match after failing a last-minute fitness test for West Ham’s trip to Brentford over the weekend. Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta, who were both suspended over the weekend after picking up five domestic bookings, will both be eligible again. Lukasz Fabianski should start in place of Alphonse Areola for the team that plays this weekend. He was absent for the trip to Piraeus but has since made a comeback in the EFL Cup victory over Arsenal. Given the significance of winning, Moyes has chosen his teams with great success thus far in this competition. Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen may both start.
Mohammad Kudus is an outstanding player for the home team. He has scored in each of his past two games, including an incredible acrobatic strike at Brentford. He has started all three of the Europa League games thus far, scoring twice against TSC on matchday one. Martinez will benefit greatly from Ntoi’s comeback because the Greek team has a number of injured players on their roster, including UNAM loanee Nicolas Freire and Athanasios Androutsos, who has played in five of the team’s Europa League games thus far.
Omar Richards, a Nottingham Forest loanee who hasn’t made his team debut yet, won’t play when he makes his possible return to England. Giulian Biancone, who took a similar decision this summer, is in a similar situation. Both Ron Leidner and Bandiougou Fadiga have not yet appeared on the field for Olympiacos this season despite returning from their separate loan stints over the summer.
West Ham United 3 – 1 Olympiacos
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