Olympiacos set for Europa League group stage appearance
Olympiacos set for Europa League group stage appearance
Olympiacos took a big step towards the UEFA Europa League group stages last Thursday after dispatching Slovan Bratislava 3-0 at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in their first leg matchup in the UEFA Europa League playoffs. The Greek side will look to seal the deal on Thursday when they travel to the Slovakian capital and book their place in the group stages of the event. Olympiacos have stated they will look to make a run in the competition and at 22Bet you can put your vote of confidence in the Greek champions to win the competition.
Olympiacos entered Europe this season as the champions of Greece and as a result entered the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. The Reds defeated Neftci Baku by 1-0 in both the first and second legs to advance to the third qualifying round where they faced Bulgarian champions Ludogorets.
After a 1-1 stalemate in the first leg, the Greek champions managed to draw in Bulgaria 2-2 and send the game to extra time. In the overtime period, no goals were scored and in the penalty shootout, Olympiacos failed to impress by missing their first three penalties as Ludogorets advanced to the champions league playoffs with a 4-1 penalty win.
The Greek side was demoted to the UEFA Europa League where they were paired with Slovakian champions Slovan Bratislava. Olympiacos were the clear favorites heading into the encounter and they did not disappoint as they took a 3-0 aggregate lead in the first leg in front of their home crowd.
With Olympiacos all but in the group stages of the event, the Greeks will look to make a run in the competition. Under coach Pedro Martins, Olympiacos have qualified for the last 32 of the competition on one occasion and for the last 16 on two occasions, including last season where they bowed out to English giants Arsenal. This year Olympaicos want to qualify, at minimum, for the quarterfinals of the competition but the Greeks have the talent to make it all the way to the final.
However, the UEFA Europa League has become a much more difficult competition since UEFA reshaped their competitions and added a third tier competition, the UEFA Europa Conference League. The UEFA Europa League now has 32 teams instead of 48, with the group stages including eight groups of four teams each. The top team from each group will advance to the last 16 while the second placed teams will play in an “in-between” round against the third placed teams from the UEFA Champions League group stages for a place in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League. The third placed teams from the Europa League group stages will be demoted to the UEFA Europa Conference League to play in a similar “in-between'' round against the second placed teams from the Conference League group stages for a place in the Conference League round of 16.
Olympiacos have the potential to make a run in the newer and more difficult Europa League. If the Greek champions fail to make it out of the group stage, however, there is always another opportunity in the newly formed Europa Conference League.