Bayer Leverkusen vs Olympiacos Preview: Team News & Prediction | 2025-26 UEFA Champions League | Knockout Playoffs
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Bayer Leverkusen were very impressive last week to more or less see off Olympiacos but they must now finish the job in the second-leg at the BayArena on Tuesday night.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / US – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – discovery+ / US – Paramount+
Bayer Leverkusen preview: Impressive Leverkusen
In the first-leg of this UEFA Champions League knockout playoff round tie in Piraeus last week, Leverkusen defeated the Greek giants by two goals to nil, courtesy of a brace of goals scored by Czechia international striker Patrik Schick.
The home team, under the management of former Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand, did slip to a slender 1-0 loss away at Union Berlin the other day, ending what was a seven-match unbeaten run of form across all competitions.
Olympiacos preview: Irritated Olympiacos
2024 UEFA Europa Conference League winners have proven themselves to be very good at European knockout ties but now former Sevilla boss Jose Luis Mendilibar is under a fair bit of pressure due to some underwhelming performances and results of late.
The Greek champions’ 2-0 defeat last week has contributed to a run of just two victories in their last six matches across all competitions, seeing them on the cusp of European competition elimination as well as being second in the Greek Super League.
Bayer Leverkusen team news: Bade now out
Leverkusen have a fresh injury issue as former Sevilla centre-back Loic Bade is now sidelined alongside Mark Flekken, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Nathan Tella.
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Blaswich; Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba; Vazquez, Palacios, Garcia, Grimaldo; Maza, Poku; Schick
Unavailable: Flekken (Injured), Bade (Injured), Ben Seghir (Injured), Tella (Injured)
Questionable: Tillman (Injured)
Olympiacos team news: Centre-backs should be fine
Lorenzo Pirola and Panos Retsos were involved in something of a horror collision during the first-leg last week and both appear good to go without any concussion ahead of this one.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Tzolakis; Rodinei, Retsos, Pirola, Ortega; Mouzakitis, Hezze; Martins, Taremi, Podence; El Kaabi
Unavailable: Bakoulas (Injured)
Questionable:
Bayer Leverkusen vs Olympiacos prediction
Olympiacos are in danger but the fact that they defeated Leverkusen by two goals to nil in their penultimate match in the league phase last month will still give them some confidence, albeit that was at home. Leverkusen started this season in a mess with Erik ten Hag sacked after a month and, while inconsistent, they do look to be improving with Hjulmand and the completion of a two-legged win here will further show that – and caution should get them over the line, keeping the score down and controlling the occasionally effective chaos of the visitors’ attack.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Olympiacos Tip: Under 3.5 goals
