Olympiacos out to salvage European season against Saint-Etienne

By: Peter Katsiris | February 26th, 2009

A mountainous chore lies ahead for Olympiacos, after their self-destructive performance at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium last week allowed Saint-Etienne to cruise to a comfortable 3-1 victory in Piraeus. On Thursday night, the Greek Champions will aim to overturn that deficit at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, but the odds are stacked heavily against the Greek Super League leaders.

With several absentees forcing manager Ernesto Valverde to shuffle his line-up it seems unthinkable that the visitors will extend their European campaign. Even though pundits will agree the Greeks are heavy underdogs, Olympiacos does have the ability to overcome their French hosts.

Insurmountable setbacks?

With a comfortable lead atop the Greek Super League standings, an early exit from the UEFA Cup is not something Olympiacos is likely to settle for. While their domestic duties have made way for an eleven-point lead over rivals Panathinaikos and PAOK, the reality of being bounced from the final edition of the UEFA Cup is of disappointing circumstances.

A slim 1-0 loss to Ergotelis over the weekend continued the ‘Erythrolefki’s’s slide in recent weeks, as the Piraeus giants picked up their third loss of month- a cup defeat to PAOK commenced the club’s February schedule.

The apparent problem for Olympiacos has been its exposure in defense. Last week, Saint-Etienne punished the Greeks after a handful of mistakes allowed Ilan, Geoffrey Dernis, and Bafetimbi Gomis to inflate the score line in the first leg.

In addition to the club’s sloppy defensive displays in recent matches, inefficient responses in offense have also led to Olympiacos’ downfall. Certainly capable of scoring goals, Diogo has been unable to find the back of the net since tallying in his side’s 2-1 win over OFI Crete FC back in January.

Only adding to Valverde’s woes is a long list of absentees plague the Spanish boss ahead of kick-off in France. Argentine midfielder Luciano Galletti, who hasn’t played since the first leg with ‘Les Verts’, is out of the line-up and remains doubtful for Olympiacos titanic clash with arch-rivals Panathinaikos on Sunday. Compatriot Fernando Belluschi will also miss out, after scans revealed a muscle strain will sideline the former River Plate attacking midfielder for three weeks.

Defenders will also need to scramble to fill voids left by Didier Domi and Avraam Papadopoulos. Domi also faces a similar absence to that of Belluschi’s, while the flu is keeping Papadopoulos from suiting up against Saint-Etienne.

Fortunately, there is some good news for Olympiacos. On-loan Liverpool midfielder, Sebastian Leto, returns to the line-up having missed the introductory leg in Greece and his side’s trip to Crete over the weekend.

Renaissance in Saint-Etienne

While there 3-1 defeat of Olympiacos certainly made headlines in France, the Ligue 1 minnows are slowly turning things around on the domestic front as well. Still locked in a relegation battle, Saint-Etienne continued their impressive performances by holding French title-chasers Bordeaux to a 1-1 draw.

Comfortable leaders of the tie heading into the second leg, Saint-Etienne’s main objective will likely revolve around defense. Their 3-1 win in Piraeus forces Olympiacos to search for three goals in France, which leaves plenty of breathing room for Alain Perrin’s men.

Added to the fact Saint-Etienne has gone undefeated at the Geoffroy-Guichard in eight European home games, stretching back to the quarter-finals of the 1980/1981 edition of the UEFA Cup.

‘Keeper Jeremie Janot came under heavy fire in Greece last week, and with Olympiacos in a desperate state to score goals, the French shot stopper could be forced into action on my occasions.

Playing in front of the net minder will be Greek defender Stathis Tavlaridis, and the experienced central defender will be looked upon to keep close tabs on Olympiacos striker Diogo. Managing to contain the Brazilian last week, if Tavlaridis is able to reproduce his performance, Saint-Etienne should be celebrating a berth in the round of sixteen by the final whistle.

Reincarnation

As Olympiacos’ European ambitions faintly linger, the ‘Eryhtrolefki’ are urged to recreate a similar performance to their blowout victories against Benfica and Hertha Berlin from the group stages. A meeting in France only complicates the immediate future for the Greek titleholders. A much anticipated match with arch-rivals Panathinaikos on the weekend commences a string of domestic derbies that end with a double date with Thessaloniki’s PAOK FC. Joy for Saint-Etienne would mark a gloomy end for Olympiacos’ seemingly decided domestic campaign. On the flip side, progression for the French could spell a revival for Saint-Etienne’s Ligue 1 campaign.

AS Saint-Etienne (Alain Perrin): Viviani, Varrauly, Tavlaridis, Payet, Ilan, Gigliotti, Mirallas, Dernis, Matuidi, Janot, Hautcouer, Gomis, Dabo, Matsui, Sauget, Machado, Bayal, Benalouane.

Olympiacos CFP (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Kovac, Pantos, Torosidis, Patsatzoglou, Djordjevic, Antzas, Zewlakow, Mitroglou, Dudu, Leto, Derbyshire, Oscar, Leonardo, Mendrinos, Diogo, Galitsios.