After drawing 1-1 in the 1st leg Greece a week ago, Slovan Bratislava and Olympiakos head into this 2nd leg all square and everything to play for with both teams facing off at the Štadión Tehelné pole in Bratislava.
While the reigning Slovakian champions have only lost one of their previous six matches at Tehelne Pole, last season's Greek champions are winless in their previous five games away from home and will appear to do well to avoid defeat here.
🎥Match highlights @olympiacosfc - ŠK Slovan Bratislava 1:1. https://t.co/jQuqAFGZxt— ŠK Slovan Bratislava (@SKSlovan) August 5, 2022
🎥Match highlights @olympiacosfc - ŠK Slovan Bratislava 1:1. https://t.co/jQuqAFGZxt
There should be a lot more optimism about Bratislava's chances of making it to the final qualification stage than last season, as Slovan Bratislava lost 3-0 in the opening leg to Olympiakos and could only muster a 2-2 draw in the return leg culminating in elimination.
The hosts have lost just one of their last five Europa League ties though and this gives them a chance of a result here.
It has not been a good month and a half for the club from Piraeus, as Olympiakos have only won one of its previous nine matches in all competitions which came in the form of a 1-0 home win against Dutch outfit, Ajax, in a pre-season friendly.
After being appointed manager of Olympiakos only recently, former Huddersfield Town boss, Carlos Corberan, saw his Olympiakos side snatch a draw against Bratislava in his first match last week.
He inherits a club that, despite recent struggles, has higher expectations than those he encountered at Huddersfield Town, where he managed from July 2020 until July 2022.
But he’ll need to rally his troops once again on Thursday night as the Greek visitors look to break their five-match winless slump on the road in this competition.
In each of their previous four Europa League campaigns, Olympiakos have reached at least the group stage, and they have not missed the round-robin portion of the Europa League or Champions League since 2010-11.
The visitors do at least possess valuable pedigree and experience at this level.
Having lost their last three Europa League ties though away from home with losses at Eintracht Frankfurt, Antwerp and Atalanta, Olympiakos may be grateful for another draw here and perhaps take their chances in extra-time.
The previous two meetings against Olympiakos have resulted in draws and another stalemate could be on the cards here as well.