Olympiacosvs.FC Twente

Thrylos have made an excellent start on their quest to lift continental honours in back-to-back campaigns, whereas the Tukkers are at danger of suffering a premature elimination from this competition.

Match preview

After consecutive third-placed finishes in the Greek Super League, Olympiacos look set to seriously challenge for the domestic crown in 2024-25, with Thursday's European hosts currently sitting pretty at the summit of the top-flight standings, three points ahead of AEK Athens in second.

Focusing on Europa League matters, Thrylos are looking to get back to winning ways after a pair of disappointing draws over recent times, recording a 1-1 scoreline at home to Rangers on November 7 before playing out a goalless affair with FCSB in Romania on November 28.

Olympiacos have enjoyed three straight successes on the domestic scene so far in December as they build up to Thursday's clash in Piraeus, with the Greek giants posting wins over OFI Crete and Volos in the Super League, as well as a victory over Kallithea in the cup.

Finding the net in Thrylos' 3-0 thumping of Volos on the weekend, Ayoub El Kaabi is a master of goalscoring for the hosts and has bagged 15 in his first 21 appearances of the 2024-25 season, all after collecting the Conference League Golden Boot on the way to the trophy last term.

Unbeaten in all 10 of their fixtures at a hostile Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis this campaign, Jose Luis Mendilibar's troops should be confident of earning three points on Thursday to propel themselves up the 36-team rankings, with the Greeks sitting in 14th at this moment, two points behind the top eight.

FC Twente have experienced a volatile start to their festive schedule, enjoying three points from a five-goal thriller with Go Ahead Eagles at De Grolsch Veste on the first of the month, before a daunting trip to the Eredivisie pacesetters resulted in a Friday night battering.

It looked as if the Tukkers were on course to upset the apple cart at Philips Stadion last time out when influential midfielder Sem Steijn opened the scoring after 10 minutes, but Joseph Oosting's side were later hit for six without reply, as Ismael Saibari bagged a brace for PSV Eindhoven.

Licking their wounds from an Eredivisie annihilation last week, Twente are still searching for their maiden win in the League Phase of the Europa League at the sixth attempt, with the Dutch side one of only five clubs who are yet to rejoice in sweet taste of victory in UEFA's second-tier club competition.

Arguably the Tukkers' best chance yet to collect maximum points from a match, Union SG visited De Grolsch Veste during gameweek five of the Europa League last month, when a first-half strike from Ghana international Mohammed Fuseini was enough to snatch victory for the Belgians.

With Ricky van Wolfswinkel suffering a number of fitness issues so far this campaign, Oosting's side have relied heavily on the attacking talents of 23-year-old Steijn, who has scored 12 and made four goals in 20 competitive appearances, although he is yet to provide a goal contribution in the Europa League.

Olympiacos Europa League form:

L

W

W

D

D

Olympiacos form (all competitions):

FC Twente Europa League form:

D

D

L

D

L

FC Twente form (all competitions):

D

D

W

L

W

L

Team News

Still a vital part of Ukraine's plans on the international stage, Olympiacos attacker Roman Yaremchuk is currently sidelined due to a facial injury.

Thrylos' options at the top end of the pitch are reduced further by the absence of Yusuf Yazici, who is out for the remainder of the campaign after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.

David Carmo starred in the 4-1 thumping of title rivals AEK Athens on November 24 but has not featured in the four matches since owing to a knock.

Ex-Norwich City marksman Van Wolfswinkel was not included in Twente's matchday squad for the 6-1 defeat at PSV and is set for a few weeks on the sidelines.

The Tukkers are also battling on without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall, meaning that 37-year-old Przemyslaw Tyton could start in between the sticks for the visitors.

Olympiacos possible starting lineup:

Tzolakis; Costinha, Restos, Pirola, Ortega; Mouzakitis, Garcia, Willian, Kostoulas, Masouras; El Kaabi

FC Twente possible starting lineup:

Tyton; Regeer, Hilgers, Van Hoorenbeeck, Salah-Eddine; Besselink, Vlap, Rots, Steijn, Van Bergen; Lammers

We say: Olympiacos 3-0 FC Twente

Close to reaching the double-digit mark on their unbeaten track, Olympiacos should be full of confidence and ready to put Twente to the sword on Thursday night.

Written by

Carter White

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