Olympiacos hosts OFI tonight (7:00 p.m.), in a very exciting matchup to be held at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, kicking off Matchday 4 of the Stoiximan Super League!
Tonight’s game will be the “Red-and-Whites’” first with Imanol Alguacil on the bench, with the Basque coach replacing José Luis Mendilibar, who stepped down as the team’s head coach after 2.5 years.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Olympiacos’ new head coach held his first training session with the team on Thursday, September 10, and demonstrated some of the elements he wants to incorporate into the Piraeus side’s play, though it remains to be seen whether we’ll see any of them in tonight’s game. Also present at this first practice were Vangelis Marinakis, who addressed the players, speaking about the start of the season as well as his decision to make a change in the team’s coaching staff.
Olympiacos began its campaign in this year’s league with two hard-fought 1-0 victories against Atromitos and Asteras Tripolis, followed by a 1-1 away draw against Volos, a match marred by El Kaabi’s serious injury. Last Tuesday, they defeated the team from Magnesia 3-2, bringing their record to 2 wins and 2 draws in the League Phase of the Greek Cup, in a game that would turn out to be the last with Medilibar on the team’s bench. Next up for the “Red-and-Whites” is their Europa League opener this season, at home against Poland’s Jagiellonia (September 16, 10:00 p.m.), and before the break for international duty, they also have an away match against Levadiakos.
In his first squad selection as Olympiacos’ coach, Alguacil included Bailey, who may make his debut for the Red-and-Whites, while Pirola is also available, having recovered from the strain that had been bothering him. Yaremchuk and Clayton were also named to the roster, while in addition to the injured El Kaabi and Roca, Sipioni was also left out.
Olympiacos’ roster: Ortega, Popovic, Stournaras, Saliakas, Smailović, Pirolá, Karamo, Pedersen, Retsos, Bruno, Tiknizian, Fortounis, Sa, Martins, Garcia, Puerta, Bailey, Froiler, Chikino, Ese, Yaremchuk, Silva, Gonzalez, Clayton
On the other hand, OFI traveled to Piraeus having earned 6 points. In their season opener, they defeated Volos 2-0, then lost 2-1 in Thessaloniki to Aris, before defeating Kifissia 2-0 at Pankritio Stadium in Matchday 3. Last Wednesday, they easily defeated Nestos Chrysoupoli 3-0 in their first match of the League Phase of the Superbet Greek Cup, while this coming Thursday they will host German side Hoffenheim in the Europa League. Before the break for national team duty, they will also play at home against Asteras AKTOR.
As for the lineup, Marinakis was left out of OFI’s squad for tonight’s match, while Isseka and Sielis made the 25-man roster. Hatzigiovanis, whose signing was announced a few hours ago, was also included in the roster.
The OFI roster: Christogeorgos, Lilo, Katsikas, Sielis, Krizmanic, Nikolaou, Kostoulas, Pougouras, Dikman, Apostolakis, Athanasiou, Kainourgiakis, Gonzalez, Karachalios, Bouhalakis, Androutsos, Kanellopoulos, Fountas, Hatzigiannis, Romano, Nous, Aitor, Theodosoulakis, Iséka, Konstro.
The two teams faced off three times last season, with Olympiacos prevailing 3-0 in both Faliro and Heraklion in league play, and by the same score, but in extra time following a 0-0 draw in regulation, in the Super Cup final.
Probable starting lineups:
Olympiacos (Alguathil): Ortega, Pedersen, Retsos, Pirolá, Tiknizian, Ese, Puerta, Martins, Zota Silva, Chiquinho, González
OFI (Kontis): Christogeorgos, Dikman, Kostoulas, Pougouras, Nikolaou, Athanasiou, Androutsos, Bouhalakis, Fountas, Aitor, Nous.
Referee: Vasileios Fotiadis
; Assistant Referees: Andreas Meintanas, Tryfonas Petropoulos
Fourth Official: Alexandros Katsikogiannis
VAR: Alexandros Tsakalidis
AVAR: Michalis Matsoukas
*photo source: Olympiacos FC
