‘Cold’ Karaiskakis to play host to first leg between Olympiacos and Wolves
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - ROUND OF 16 (LEG 1)
A ‘cold’ Karaiskakis Stadium will host the Europa League Round of 16 first leg match between Olympiacos and Wolves on Thursday night.
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The first leg of the Round of 16 matchup between Olympiacos and Wolves takes place Thursday night in Piraeus. However, the encounter at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium will have a cold feel to it in the sense that the match will be played behind closed doors.
That is because of the recent directive in Greece to hold all sporting events without supporters until early April, at the very least due to the threat posed by the Coronavirus. The absence of fans will surely be a negative for Pedro Martins’ men as they attempt to negotiate passage in another European tie against English opposition. In the previous round, Olympiacos dramatically eliminated Arsenal after overturning a 1-0 first leg home deficit in the return fixture in London.
The Greek side had one of their best European nights ever a fortnight back at the Emirates Stadium, but must now go up against one of the Premier League’s most consistent sides over the last two seasons. Olympiacos must fight against tough opposition, empty stands, and perhaps rust. With the Greek Super League 1 playoffs delayed a week, the team’s last game was eight days ago in a 3-2 Greek Cup semifinal first-leg defeat away to PAOK. It remains to be seen whether that will prove to be beneficial or not to the Piraeus side.
Arsenal might be a more prestigious club and bigger name in European football, but in Wolves, the Greek club will have their hands full with a quality team. Nuno Espirito Santo has worked wonders in bringing the club up to the Premier League and last season achieving European football at the first time of asking. The Wolverhampton side is one with lofty aspirations, and further progression in this competition would see them begin to make a name for themselves on the continent.
Wolves warmed up for this match with a disappointing 0-0 home draw with Brighton at the weekend. The team would have not been too upset, though, by the point as they remain in the top six and are still candidates for a European berth, potentially a Champions’ League place.
TEAM NEWS
Olympiacos
Hilal Soudani is the only real miss for the Erythrolefki. His absence leaves the attack very thin along with the fact that Ahmed Hassan was not included in the club’s European squad.
Five players must be careful in this first leg with the likes of Youssef El-Arabi, Guilherme, Mady Camara, Andreas Bouchalakis, and Ousseynou Ba all one caution away from suspension.
Martins appears set to go with his tried and trusted 4-3-3 formation with the only question seemingly being whether Giorgos Masouras or Lazar Randjelovic will start on the right side of the attack.
Possible line-up: Sa, Elabdellaoui, Semedo, Ba, Tsimikas, Camara, Guilherme, Bouchalakis, Valbuena, Masouras, El-Arabi
Wolves
The biggest question on the injury front for Nuno’s side concerns Adama Traore. The explosive attacker is battling a shoulder problem and remains a doubt for the first leg. Wing-back Jonny is expected to miss out after having not fully recovered from an ankle injury.
Daniel Podence returns to the stadium he called home for the last two years and is an outside bet at getting a start.
Possible line-up: Patricio; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Doherty, Neves, Moutinho, Vinagre; Traore, Jimenez, Jota
REFEREE: Clément Turpin
The 38-year-old will oversee his first-ever encounter involving a Greek team this Thursday. The young French referee has officiated four Champions’ League matches this season, most notably Bayern Munich’s 7-2 defeat of Tottenham in London. He has been involved in several major competitions including EURO 2016, the 2016 Olympic Games, and the 2018 World Cup.
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
Assistant referees: Nicolas Danos (FRA), Cyril Gringore (FRA)
Video Assistant Referee: François Letexier (FRA)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard (FRA)
Fourth official: Frank Schneider (FRA)
