Interesting opponents for Olympiacos and AEK in Europa League draw
If they beat FC Luzern in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, Olympiacos will face either Istanbul Basaksehir or Burnley in the playoffs, while AEK Athens could possibly play the winner of the Spartaks Jurmala-Suduva pairing.
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In Monday’s Europa League playoff draw, Olympiacos successfully managed to avoid RB Leipzig, but the Piraeus club were given a potentially testing tie against the winner of the Istanbul Basaksehir-Burnley pairing. Olympiacos still have to beat Luzern in the third qualifying round in order to make the next phase.
Olympiacos will host the first match on August 23, before the second takes place on the road on August 30.
Having only been formed in 1990, Istanbul Basaksehir aren’t blessed with plenty of history, but they boast a strong squad with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and Arda Turan. In the 2017/2018 campaign, Basaksehir were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League playoffs by Sevilla and came in third place of Group C in the Europa League. Domestically, the club finished in third position of the Super Lig with 72 points from 34 matches.
English outfit Burnley were the surprise package of the 2017/2018 English Premier League, surprisingly claiming seventh spot after they impressed with determined, spirited performances. Coached by Sean Dyche, Burnley are a difficult team to break down and defeated Aberdeen 4:2 on aggregate in the Europa League second qualifying round.
This is Burnley’s first season in Europe since 1967 when they reached the quarter-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Burnley won the Premier League twice in 1921 and 1960 and tasted glory in the 1914 FA Cup.
AEK are focused on defeating Celtic and continuing their journey in the UEFA Champions League, but in the event that the Kitrinomavri fall short against the Scots, they will play either Spartaks Jurmala or Suduva in the Europa League playoffs.
The first leg will be played away on August 23 and the second is scheduled to be hosted by the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 30.
Founded in 2007, Spartaks Jurmala have made steady progress in the past few years, which culminated in winning two consecutive Latvian Higher League titles in 2016 and 2017. This season, they initially started out in the Champions League, but they were ousted 0:2 on aggregate by Serbian giants Crvena Zvezda. Nevertheless, Spartaks recovered in the Europa League second qualifying round, destroying San Marino’s La Fiorita 9:0.
Spartaks’ roster is mainly made up of Latvian talent, but they do have two Brazilians on their books as well as an Argentinian, a Bosnian, a Nicaraguan and four Russians. Young forward Denis Davydov on loan from Spartak Moscow is one to watch.
Lithuanian champions Suduva Marijampole have already upset a Cypriot club this summer, shocking APOEL in the Champions League by slaying them 3:2. Suduva couldn’t maintain their promising form in Europe’s main tournament though, beaten by Crvena Zvezda 0:5 over the course of two legs.
This is the third successive season when Suduva have participated in European competition. Suduva have earned one Lithuanian championship in 2017 and won the Lithuanian Cup twice in 2006 and 2009.
