Our prediction for this Europa League match:
After failing to spoil West Ham’s party in London, TSC will look to give fans some cheer when they take on Olympiakos in their second group game. TSC did suffer the loss in their opener, but their performance against the Hammers was anything but poor and that is certainly giving fans a reason for optimism ahead of Thursday’s encounter. Zarko Lazetic has no fresh injury worries.
The Thrylos, on the other hand, aim to recover from a 3-2 loss to Freiburg and it seems as if the Greek outfit will not have a better chance than this to record their first win of the process. Olympiakos are more experienced side than TSC and we predict that the visitors will showcase their worth on the field. Portugal forward Daniel Podence should keep his place in the starting XI after scoring a brace in a 3-0 win over Giannina at the weekend, while Santiago Hezze remains in the recovery room after suffering injury in the Europa League opener two weeks ago.
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.