West Ham United welcome Olympiacos to the London Stadium for Thursday’s UEFA Europa League group stage showdown.
Olympiacos and West Ham United in Greece last month in the reverse fixture, with Thrylos registering a 2-1 home win. First-half goals from Kostas Fortounis and Rodinei gave Thursday’s visitors an excellent foundation in Greece, before West Ham Ham pulled one back late in the second half, with Lucas Paqueta halving their deficit in the 87th minute.
The Hammers have endured a tough spell both domestically and on the European stage. They have lost four of their last five matches and did not cover themselves in glory in the 3-2 defeat at Brentford last Saturday, as they blew away a two-goal lead.
They are still top of Group A with six points after three matches and are favourites to advance to the knockout stages, but things are not as simple now.
Freiburg also have six points, while the result in the reverse fixture kept alive Olympiacos’s hopes of progression, as a defeat would have left them a long way adrift even at the midway point. The visitors currently have four points, and a victory for the Greek side this week would leave David Moyes’s side in a troublesome situation.
Olympiacos are second in the Greek Super League, four points behind Panathinaikos, having won seven and lost two of their ten league games. However, they were on the wrong end of a 4-2 thumping over the weekend.
Team News & Tactics
West Ham United
Preparing for a big week ahead ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/YAOp44sVOz
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 7, 2023
David Moyes prefers to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, and it would be a huge surprise if he were to alter his formation for the Olympiacos game given the Scotsman will likely have a full-strength squad at his disposal.
Starting centre-back Kurt Zouma is the only doubt for David Moyes ahead of the arrival of Olympiacos after he missed the trip to Brentford over the weekend due to an injury issue. He has been in training, but it may be too soon to rush him back.
Another big boost will be the availability of midfielders Lucas Paqueta and Edson Alvarez, who will be available again after serving domestic suspensions at the weekend for picking up five yellow cards.
Lukasz Fabianski, this season’s cup goalkeeper, was absent for the trip to Piraeus but has since returned to the squad and even played in the EFL Cup triumph against Arsenal, so he should replace Alphonse Areola in between the sticks on Thursday.
Goals and assists might have dried up for James Ward-Prowse recently. But he still has very good underlying numbers, especially from set-piece situations. At home, the influential midfielder could push further forward as David Moyes looks to get back to basics.
Striker Michail Antonio had that vintage performance against Brighton in Matchday 3. But his performances since suggest he’s really showing his age. The 33-year-old forward has scored just three goals across all competitions, and that is just not enough to overcome how conservative David Moyes wants to be with committing numbers forward.
Danny Ings will likely get the nod to lead the charge for the East London outfit in the final third. Jarrod Bowen will look to provide the thrust, attacking flair, and goals from the right flank, whereas Mohammed Kudus hopes to be an electric presence from the opposite wing.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Coufal, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Kehrer; Soucek, Alvarez; Bowen, Ward-Prowse, Kudus; Ings
Olympiacos
Yet to make their respective debuts since arriving from Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan deal, Olympiacos will once again be without the services of full-back duo Omar Richards and Giulian Biancone here.
Likewise, Diego Martinez has a long list of injured players on the sidelines, including Bandiougou Fadiga, Doron Leidner, Athanasios Androutsos, and Pumas UNAM-loanee Nicolas Freire. On the flip side, the Greek side will be able to call upon Andreas Ndoj again on the continent after he missed the reverse fixture following a red card against TSC.
💯% focused on #WHUOLY pic.twitter.com/cvTHr5nYmY
— Olympiacos FC (@olympiacosfc) November 7, 2023
Olympiacos will cause West Ham problems with the abundance of attacking talent on their side. After getting on the scoresheet against West Ham last weekend and recording back-to-back strikes, talisman Konstantinos Fortounis will have another leading role to play in East London.
The 31-year-old will be joined in the final third by former Wolves star Daniel Podence, who is exceptional when it comes to creating space to get an attempt at goal away and could do just that against the hosts’ defence that can be a little static, with the added caveat of hitting the target.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Paschalakis; Rodinei, Retsos, Porozo, Quini; Camara, Hezze; Masouras, Fortounis, Podence; El Kaabi
Key Stats
- The two teams have met three times in European competitions and boast a perfectly even head-to-head record, with a win apiece for either side and a game ending in a draw.
- Both teams have scored in each of their opening three games in this group.
- Olympiacos are undefeated in away games in all competitions this term, keeping three clean sheets.
- West Ham have lost just twice at home in all competitions this term, recording four wins.
- Olympiakos lost their first 12 away major European games in England but have since won three of their last six on English soil (L3), with all three victories coming against Arsenal (2015, 2020, and 2021).
Player to Watch
Mohammed Kudus
One bright spot for West Ham United was Mohammed Kudus’s impact against Brentford. The former Ajax man has already proven to be a reliable goal-getter in his short time with the home side and scored for the second game running, having netted in their win over Arsenal last week.
The winger has already scored twice for the Hammers in this competition, while he netted a hat-trick for Ajax in qualifying, so expect him to add to his tally here.
Prediction
West Ham United 2-1 Olympiacos
Olympiacos snapped West Ham’s 17-game unbeaten European run two weeks ago and, with it, left the group wide open heading into this reverse fixture. The Hammers didn’t really test Olympiacos despite the deficit, only scoring late on after huffing and puffing.
It is clear, from that evidence at least, that this will not be an easy task for the Hammers. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see West Ham pose more of an attacking threat to Olympiacos in the comfort of the London Stadium. So the Irons’ should be expected to test Alexandros Paschalakis’ goal and will be favourites to get over the line here.
