UEFA Cup group stages linger around Piraeus

By: Peter Katsiris | October 2nd, 2008

After a 2-0 win in Denmark just over two weeks ago, Olympiacos welcome FC Nordsjaelland to Piraeus for the return leg of their two-legged tie in which the victor will progress to the UEFA Cup group stages. The hosts are favourites to progress and have a notable advantage heading into the deciding tie. With a poor performance against domestic minnows OFI Crete over the weekend, Olympiacos will be looking to see a spike in their confidence ahead of the mouthwatering derby with rivals AEK Athens on the weekend.

The season has somewhat turned around for the Piraeus club in a matter of a month. The painful elimination for the UEFA Champions League will not be erased, but the club isn’t dwelling on the their early exit from the premier European club competition. Instead, an undefeated start to the Greek Super League has sparked Enersto Valverde’s men to reach for success. European success has always been somewhat of a tough task for Olympiacos, but a convincing win against FC Nordsjaelland could set the ‘wheels’ in motion.

Olympiacos were somewhat stunned by the pressure posed by Nordsjaelland in Farum, and with the Danish outfit fighting for survival on both domestic and European fronts, the Thursday night task might be even harder for an injury bitten Olympiacos. Despite the return of club captain Predrag Djordjevic, a long list of regulars will be limited to the sidelines. The most notable is inspirational winger Luciano Galletti, who missed training earlier this week. Joining the Argentine on the bench will be Ieroklis Stoltidis, who missed the league encounter with OFI through this injury. Leonardo was also abset against OFI, and his fellow contryman Dudu will also sit this one out due to an injury he picked up on Saturday. Lastly, Greece international Christos Patsatzoglou is unavailable due to an illness.

In attack, Diogo Santo will look to notch hid first goal in Europe for his new club. After managing to hit the scoresheet domestically on numerous occassions, Diogo has been labelled the club’s biggest offensive threat. His attacking partner has been left in question as both Darko Kovacevic and Konstantinos Mitroglou face a race to form. Kovacevic has improved his play, and showed glimpses of his scoring abilities which won him praises from the Olympiacos faithful last year. Meanwhile, Mitroglou scored the winning goal against Nordsjaelland in Denmark, and the U-21 Greece international will be hoping his number is called again on Thursday.

The midfield could be the side’s achilles heal as a long list of injuries plague the Olympiacos middle line. Sebastian Leto will become the main driving force for a unit missing its usual top guns. The player on loan from Liverpool scored the second goal in the first leg, and he will be keen on adding to his tally with the ‘Eruthroleuki’.

Defensively the club will have to be perfect if they are to avoid any surprises on this night. In Denmark, Olympiacos’ marking was not at all consistent nor convincing and with Nordsjaelland expected to press hard for an upset, Olympiacos could pay the price.

In goal, Antonis Nikopolidis continues to be the man between the posts. The former Greece international could be called upon immensely tonight if Olympiacos’ defenders are careless with their marking.