Olympiacos vs Leverkusen Champions League preview: Where to watch, predicted line-ups, form, quotes
Olympiacos host Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off first leg on 18 February.
Match at a glance
When: Wednesday 18 February (21:00 CET)
Where: Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, Piraeus
What: UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off first leg
Who: The Greek champions against the 2002 Champions League finalists
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Where to watch the game on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What you need to know?
First-half goals from Costinha and Mehdi Taremi made the difference a month ago when José Luis Mendilibar’s Olympiacos beat Leverkusen 2-0 in Piraeus on Matchday 7, but that was a relatively tame outcome given that the Werkself had lost 6-2 in 2002/03 in their only previous away encounter with Thrylos.
The Greek side last made it to the Champions League knockout phase in 2013/14, when they beat Man Utd 2-0 at home but missed out after a 3-0 loss in Manchester. Leverkusen have not won in four games in Greece (D1 L3) since a 4-1 Cup Winners’ Cup success at Panathinaikos in 1993.
Possible line-ups
Olympiacos: Tzolakis; Costinha, Retsos, Pirola, Ortega; Hezze, García; Rodinei, Chiquinho, Gelson Martins; Taremi
Leverkusen: Blaswich; Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba; Lucas Vázquez, García, Fernández, Grimaldo; Tillman, Poku; Schick
Match stats and facts
Form guide
Olympiacos
Form: DLWDWW (all competitions, most recent first)
Latest: Levadiakos 0-0 Olympiacos, 14/02, Greek Super League
Leverkusen
Form: WDWWWW
Latest: Leverkusen 4-0 St. Pauli, 14/02, German Bundesliga
Views from the camps
José Luis Mendilibar, Olympiacos coach: “We have done well in the Champions League; we have exceeded our expectations, finishing 18th ahead of teams with huge budgets. From now on we want [a repeat performance] against a team that are on a good run. It is a new game. Just because we beat them last time does not mean that we will win – or that we will lose.”
Kasper Hjulmand, Leverkusen coach: “We had some great games [in the league phase]. We won at Benfica, won at Man City – two away games. Altogether, I think it’s OK. We are through to the [league phase play-offs]. That’s the most important thing. Anything can happen in the knockout phase.”
Reporter’s view
Vassiliki Papantonopoulou, match reporter: It was only four weeks ago that Olympiacos beat Leverkusen 2-0 in the league phase, but it seems like an age has passed since then. Since that night in Piraeus, Leverkusen have been going from strength to strength: unbeaten and scoring frequently. By contrast, Olympiacos are going through a complicated spell, with just one victory in February. Will the return of Leverkusen bring them back to their best, or will the Werkself bring their sparkling form to Greece?
