Olympiacos vs Red Star Belgrade
Champions League – Group B
Date: Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Kick-off at 20:00 UK / 21:00 CET
Venue: Georgios Kyriakakis (Piraeus).
TEAM NEWS
Olympiakos
Olympiakos came to the last game of this group know that they have to beat Crvena Zvezda to finish third and qualify for the Europa League.
They tend to name a more attacking side than playing at Tottenham on matchday five even though Valbuena is still in doubt.
They warmed up nicely for this match with a 3-0 victory in the Greek Super League with two goals by El Arabi who will start in front here.
Predicted line-up (4-3-3): Jose Sa; Elabdellaoui, Ruben Semedo, Meriah, Tsimikas; Guilherme, Camara, Bouchalakis; Daniel Podence, El-Arabi, Masouras
Not available: Fortounis (Injured), Cisse (Hurt), Soudani (Ineligible), Koutris (Injured)
Doubtful: Valbuena (Injured), Papadopoulos (Injured)
Crvena ZVEZDA
Crvena Zvezda will need to bounce back from their 0-6 mauling at home to Bayern last time to seal a third and a Europa League spot.
They have won their last three league games and they travel to Greece knowing that they only need to avoid defeat in Athens.
They are encouraged by the return of striker Pavkov who missed the game Bayern and he is expected to get the nod instead Tomane in attack.
Predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Borjan; Gobeljic, Milunovic, Degenek, Rodic; Canas, Petrovic; Garcia, Marin, Van La Parra; Pavkov
Not available: Ben Nabouhane (Ineligible), Krstovic (Ineligible), Gajic (Ineligible), Jevtovic (Ineligible), Jovicic (Injured)
doubtful:
Olympiakos vs Red Star Belgrade: Predictions
Following a 2-2 draw at home to Tottenham, Piraeus club had lost their last four games to lead Group B. After slipping loss against Red Star, they were beaten twice by Bayern Munich.
Leading Olympiakos of let it slip has become something of a trend, as they did the same thing in the last game against Tottenham, after losing 2-0 at Tottenham debut CL Jose Mourinho. That means they are still at one point and to get into the Europa League, should they beat Red Star at all costs.
Serbia has only three points to their name but still two points better off than their hosts.
In addition to the home win against Olympiakos in their first official meetup, Red Star suffered four defeats in the group. They opened with a 3-0 loss at Bayern before two heavy defeats by Tottenham.
A 5-0 defeat away in London equaled their biggest losses in Europe, but a record that exceeded the final matchday as rampant Bayern crushed them 6-0 in Belgrade, made the biggest home defeat Delije in history.
For the Piraeus club, captain Kostas Fortounis will be out until 2020. Lazaros Christodoulopoulos has returned to training following a cruciate ligament injury, such as Pape Abou Cissé although it is unlikely they will play on Wednesday.
As for the Crvena Zvezda striker Richmond Boakye and pacey winger Rajiv van la Parra will either miss out on this game.
While Red Star have proved themselves to be a tough nut to crack at away games in the domestic competition, the Champions League is another level for them. That's why I'm going with this one Olympiakos.
The Greeks are far more experienced team and only lost in Belgrade because Benzia gets sent. Also, go for the Over 2.5 goals. What is needed is an early goal for all hell to break loose.
