Olympiacos look to make a run in the Europa League

Olympiacos will enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 after finishing in third place in Group C of the UEFA Champions League. 

Olympiacos put together a rather dismal UEFA Champions League campaign this season as they finished their Group C responsibilities with just one win and five losses from six matches. The Greek champions only managed to defeat bottom-of-the-table Marseille in matchday one only to suffer five consecutive defeats in the ensuing fixtures at the hands of Porto (2), Manchester City (2), and Marseille.

Nonetheless, Olympiacos secured third place in Group C with three points, ahead of Marseille who also finished with three points, thanks to a better head-to-head record (Olympiacos advanced due to their one away goal against Marseille on matchday five). As a result, the Greek side will continue in Europe after the New Year joining the Last 32 in the UEFA Europa League. The field of teams include the seven other third placed teams from the Champions League along with the 12 group winners and group runner-ups from the Europa League group stages. 

Olympiacos will find out their opponents in the first knockout stage in Monday’s Round of 32 draw. The potential opponents include AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Hoffenheim, Leicester City, Manchester United, Napoli, PSV Eindhoven, Rangers, Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham Hotspur, and Villarreal. 

Although big names are included on the list of potential opponents, Olympiacos will not be scared of a draw with a European heavyweight. To the surprise of many, last season the Piraeus giants knocked out English side Arsenal in the Last 32 in dramatic fashion before bowing out of the competition to Wolverhamptom in the Round of 16. Olympiacos could pull off another surprise this season in Europe and you can capitalize with an online sportsbook with the help of Football Tipsters.  

Olympiacos will hope to go one or two steps further in this year’s UEFA Europa League after their disappointing Champions League campaign. The fans will surely expect another good run in Europe this season as they continue to lead the table in Greece.