Olympiacos expected to have easier route to UCL group stage

AGONAsport takes a look at Olympiacos’ prospects in the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, with the club expected to win the Super League.

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Olympiacos should be home and dry in the Super League. With the regular season in the books, the Erythrolefki boast a healthy 14-point lead in first position, remaining undefeated throughout all 26 rounds. It is predicted that the playoffs and playouts will begin in June after they were initially postponed in March as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Piraeus-based organisation will enter the 2020/2021 Champions League in the third qualifying round if the Super League title is clinched. 

Let’s take a closer look at Olympiacos’ potential opponents in the qualifiers:

ROUTE TO THE GROUP STAGE

It’s common knowledge that the Champions Route is somewhat easier than the League Route. Last year, Olympiacos had to play against Viktoria Plzen, Basaksehir, and Krasnodar on their way to the group stage, but this time they will only have to compete in two qualifying rounds against supposedly weaker teams. Furthermore, Olympiacos are likely to be seeded.

Nevertheless, while Olympiacos’ task will probably be simpler, it won’t be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination.

To10 and Sportime have stated that Olympiacos will begin their Champions League against either the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, or Kazakh champions in the third qualifying round. Nevertheless, while Olympiacos should certainly be able to defeat Astana, they would be given a tough test by Ludogorets, Dinamo Zagreb, and Slavia Prague. The latter held their own in the 2019/2020 Champions League group stage against Barcelona, Internazionale, and Borussia Dortmund.

Clubs such as Maccabi Tel Aviv, Young Boys, Red Star Belgrade, and the Cypriot champions are also all possible opponents for Olympiacos in the two qualifying rounds. In Cyprus, Anorthosis and Omonia are tied in first position of the First Division, with APOEL trailing the leading pair by six points. Olympiacos don’t have particularly fond memories from playing against Anorthosis and APOEL in Europe.

Olympiacos will be hoping that they avoid playing against Red Star and Young Boys too. In the 2019/2020 Champions League group phase, Red Star managed to defeat Olympiacos 3-1 in Serbia, and Young Boys are a tough opponent for any team. Young Boys are level in first position of the Swiss Super League with Xamax.

Basel are five points behind the two leaders.

Clubs such as CFR Cluj, Ferencvaros, Qarabag, Legia Warsaw, Molde, Midtjylland, and Slovan Bratislava could all potentially play against Olympiacos as well. A lot will depend on the final seedings.

In the event that Olympiacos win the Europa League, though, they will qualify directly for the group stage of the 2020/2021 Champions League. Olympiacos drew the first leg of their Last 16 tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 at home in March. The second match is expected to be staged in July. 

The dates of the Champions League qualifying rounds, which usually take place during the summer, will be put back as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group stage will begin in late October.

Image Source: sportime.gr

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