Our prediction for this Europa League match:
Cukaricki
Match Time & Date:
31/08/2023
20:00
Prediction: 0-2
Olympiacos
Cukaricki will look to claim a major scalp in the Europa League tie with Olympiakos when the two sides go head to head at Gradski stadion Dubocica on Thursday evening. The Black and Whites experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 3-1 loss to Olympiacos in Greece and, as a result, they face an uphill task in the reverse fixture. Both Nikcevic and Ivanovic are pushing for a start after the duo came off the bench in a goalless draw with Radnik Surdulica at the weekend.
The Thrylos, on the other hand, head into the match following a routine 4-0 win over Atromitos in the Greek top flight. Olympiakos are more of a team than Cukaricki and seeing that the return leg will be played on a neutral location (Leskovac), we are tempted to put our money on the visitors. There are no fresh injury worries in the visiting side.
Highlighted Player (Kostas Fortounis):
Born in Trikala Greece on 16 October, 1992, Kostas Fortounis made his senior debut for his hometown club Trikala in the 2009/2010 Gamma Ethniki campaign. After playing 13 games for the club he moved to Asteras Tripolis at the end of the season.
In 2011 the Greek midfielder moved to Germany, signing a deal with Kaiserslautern. Fortounis made 70 league appearances for Kaiser, scoring two goals from 2011 to 2014. On 22 July, 2014 he returned to Greece, signing a four-year contract with Olympiacos. It has to be noted that he played for the Thrylos during his youth career (2003-2008).
Kostas Fortounis made his Greece debut against Belgium in February, 2012 and he represented his homeland at the 2012 European Championship finals. However, he was left out of the Greece 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. His main position is attacking midfielder, but he is capable of playing as a winger as well. Fortounis won two Greek Superleague titles (2014/2015, 2015/2016) with Olympiakos.
Highlighted Team (Olympiacos):
Olympiakos are regarded as one of the biggest club in Greece. The Thrylos were founded back in 1925 and they play their home games at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. The capacity of the stadium is 33 296. In 2016 Olympiakos won their 43rd Greek Superleague trophy and it has to be noted that they clinched their sixth consecutive domestic title.
However, the club’s biggest success came in 1999 as they participated in the Champions League quarter-finals. The Red and whites were beaten by Juventus in the two-legged tie. It is well known that Panathinaikos are considered the club’s bitterest rivals and the two teams share a great and long-standing rivalry.
The likes of AEK and PAOK are regarded as Olympiakos’ fierce opponents as well. The likes of Javier Saviola, Kevin Mirallas, Darko Kovacevic, Lomana LuaLua, Joel Campbell, Rivaldo and Marko Pantelic are notable footballers who played for the club in the past. Olympiakos fans are friends with Red Star Belgrade supporters.
Leicester 
Man City 
Tottenham 
Wolves 
Juventus 
Fiorentina 
West Ham 
Liverpool
Milan 
AS Roma
Sporting 
Benfica 
