Olympiacos handed tough UCL group stage draw
Olympiacos will play in Group B alongside Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur and Red Star Belgrade of the 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League.
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On Thursday evening, the draw for the 2019/2020 Champions League group stage took place in Monaco, with Olympiacos being placed in a daunting Group B alongside Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur and Red Star Belgrade. Olympiacos had to pass through three qualifying rounds in order to reach the group phase of Europe’s premier club competition, emphatically defeating Viktoria Plzen, Basaksehir and Krasnodar by scoring a grand total of 13 goals and only conceding one. Olympiacos finished in second place of the 2018/2019 Super League.
Although the schedule is yet to be released, UEFA has already confirmed the dates of all six matchdays of the Champions League group stage:
17/18 September, matchday one
1/2 October, matchday two
22/23 October, matchday three
5/6 November, matchday four
26/27 November, matchday five
10/11 December, matchday six
THE OPPONENTS
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich need no introduction. 29- time German champions and winners of the Champions League on five occasions, Bayern are rightfully regarded as one of the biggest teams on the planet, regularly going deep into the latter stages of the Champions League and completely dominant in Germany. Bayern most recently won the Champions League in 2013 when defeating Borussia Dortmund in the final.
Last season, Bayern reached the Last 16 of the Champions League, losing to Liverpool after defeating AEK twice in the group phase. The Bavarian club won the Bundesliga by finishing two points ahead of Dortmund.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. In the 2018/2019 season, the North Londoners embarked on a memorable run to the Champions League final, knocking out Ajax in the semi-finals with a last-gasp goal scored by Lucas Moura. Tottenham claimed fourth position of the English Premier League to maintain their place in the Champions League.
Prolific striker Harry Kane will be the biggest danger to the Olympiacos defence.
Red Star Belgrade
As widely known, Olympiacos and Red Star fans share a close friendship, but that will be put to one side once the players take to the pitch.
Red Star cannot be taken lightly. In the previous season, the 30-time national champions managed to earn a memorable 2-0 victory against eventual champions Liverpool at home in the Champions League, and they impressed with their overall solid performances in the competition. The Serbians had to defeat Suduva, HJK, FC Copenhagen and Young Boys to reach the group phase this year.
The dangerous Serbian club will be looking to take a step forward in Europe with the backing of their passionate supporters. Incidentally, Red Star won the Champions League in 1991.
Full result of the draw for the 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League group stage:
