Olympiacos gunning for victories in welcoming stretch

Olympiacos, who recently hired Giorgos Bartzokas as their new head coach to replace Kestutis Kemzura, have a stretch of perfectly winnable EuroLeague games approaching as they attempt to haul themselves back into playoff contention.

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Seven wins, 11 defeats, 13th place. At first glance, Olympiacos’ chances of somehow qualifying for the playoffs of the EuroLeague appear rather slim. However, while the Erythrolefki are facing an uphill task to reach the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier competition, victories in their upcoming matches will give them a fighting chance of finishing in at least eighth position of the regular season. Let’s take a look at Olympiacos’ next seven EuroLeague games:

14/01/2020, Olympiacos - ALBA Berlin

17/01/2020, Olympiacos - Bayern Munich

23/01/2020, Zenit Saint Petersburg - Olympiacos

30/01/2020, Olympiacos - Baskonia

04/02/2020, Zalgiris - Olympiacos

06/02/2020, Olympiacos - CSKA Moscow

20/02/2020, Olympiacos - ASVEL

Olympiacos, in any form, should have enough to beat German pair ALBA and Bayern in Piraeus. On the face of it, a trip to Russia isn’t particularly what you need when you’re desperate for victories, but newcomers Zenit Saint Petersburg are enduring a dire debut campaign in the EuroLeague with a mere five wins in 18 matches. At home, Olympiacos will start as favourites to beat a struggling Baskonia team, and Zalgiris are beatable in Lithuania this season. The toughest fixture is surely the CSKA test, however, in Moscow, Olympiacos did beat the reigning champions during the first half of the season. A dangerous ASVEL side are a lot stronger at home than on the road. 

Realistically, given Olympiacos’ terribly inconsistent form, it’s unlikely that they will win all of the seven matches in question, but at least five victories will surely give them more hope of qualifying for the EuroLeague playoffs. Giorgos Bartzokas, who previously steered Olympiacos to EuroLeague glory in 2013, will hope to work magic with the disjointed squad at his disposal and install a winning mentality. On a positive note, key figures Nikola Milutinov, Vassilis Spanoulis, Kostas Papanikolaou and Giorgos Printezis have all been in promising form in recent weeks. 

Fenerbahce (7-11), ASVEL (8-10), Valencia (8-10), and Khimki (8-10) are all above Olympiacos in the standings, with all of those clubs currently outside of the playoff zone as well. Turkish giants Fenerbahce, recovering from a shocking start to the campaign, are gradually picking up form as they creep closer towards the top eight.

FULL 2019/2020 EUROLEAGUE REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS AFTER 18 ROUNDS

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