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Wolverhampton Wanderers will invite Greek Champions Olympiacos to the Molineux on Thursday night in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League Round-of-16 fixture, 140 days after it was originally scheduled to take place.
Wolves finished seventh in the Premier League and after Arsenal's FA Cup triumph on Saturday, they have failed to qualify for next season's Europa League and will be pinning their hopes on winning the title to keep their European ambitions alive.
The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at the Karaiskakis Stadium, thus all the hosts need is a goalless draw on Thursday night to see themselves through to the last eight.
Olympiacos were crowned the Greek champions for the 45th time recently and will head into the fixture with high morale. They will need to be at their attacking best to reach the quarterfinals.
The first leg was an evenly contested game that ended in a draw, setting the stage for a decisive second leg tie. So, with both teams heading into the fixture looking for a win, let us take a look at what this exciting matchup has to offer.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Olympiacos Head-to-Head
Their previous encounter in March was the first time these sides had locked horns with one another. The game ended in a draw, even though the Erythrolefki were down to 10 men in the 28th minute.
Well, if we compare their form since the return of football in June, it is clear that Olympiacos look the better side, at least on paper. Though it does not tell the complete story as the difference between the quality of opposition they faced and the likes of which Wolves faced in the Premier League is like night and day.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Olympiacos form guide
Wolverhampton Wanderers form: L-W-D-W-L-L
Olympiacos form: W-W-L-W-D-W
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Olympiacos Team News
Wolverhampton Wanderers:
Nuno Espírito Santo will be a happy man heading into the fixture, as he has a fully fit squad at his disposal for the match with no injury concerns or suspensions to worry about.
Midfielder João Moutinho and winger Adama Traoré started from the bench in their last league game of the season against Chelsea and are likely to be recalled by Santo to the starting XI.
Injuries: None
Doubtful: None
Suspensions: None
Olympiacos:
Pedro Martins will have to do without a few players in the fixture, as defender Ruben Semedo is suspended for the game after he picked up a straight red card in the first leg.
The visitors will also be without winger El Arbi Hillel Soudani and defender Leonardo Koutris, who picked up an injury in his short-term loan at Mallorca, as they are both out with cruciate ligament ruptures.
The biggest concern for Martins will be the wrist injury picked up by their first-choice goalkeeper José Sá. The Portuguese shotstopper has had an impressive season between the sticks and will now likely be replaced by Bobby Allain for his European debut.
Injuries: José Sá (wrist), El Arbi Hillel Soudani (ACL), Leonardo Koutris (ACL)
Doubtful: None
Suspensions: Ruben Semedo
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Olympiacos Predicted XI
Wolverhampton Wanderers Predicted XI (3-4-3): Rui Patrício; Romain Saïss, Conor Coady, Willy Boly; Matt Doherty, João Moutinho, Ruben Neves, Jonny; Adama Traoré, Raul Jiménez, Diogo Jota
Olympiacos Predicted XI (4-5-1): Bobby Allain; Omar Elabdellaoui, Pape Abou Cissé, Ousseynou Ba, Konstantinos Tsimikas; Guilherme, Mady Camara, Andreas Bouchalakis, Mathieu Valbuena, Giorgos Masouras; Youssef El-Arabi
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Olympiacos Prediction
Raul Jimenez has been Wolves' top scorer this season with 26 goals across all competitions but it is the 23-year-old Diogo Jota who leads the way for the club in the Europa League, finding the back of the net six times so far. He is the joint top-scorer in the competition as well.
Wolverhampton Wanderers' success this term has been built on their solid home form. They have only lost once at Molineux since the restart, keeping a clean sheet in the remaining four home games. In Europa League, they have an impressive 8-0 aggregate score from their previous two home games.
Olympiacos might struggle to break down the solid Wolves' defence in the fixture but what is more concerning is that they might also fail to keep the home side from scoring with the relatively inexperienced Bobby Allain between the sticks and Ruben Semedo absent in the defence.
We expect the game to be evenly contested just as the first leg but due to the impressive home record of Wolverhampton Wanderers and a weakened Olympiacos defence, the hosts look like they have this fixture and a spot in the last eight in the bag.
Final Verdict: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Olympiacos
