Olympiacos will host Cukaricki in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff-round tie on Thursday at the Karaiskakis Stadium.
Olympiacos will host Cukaricki in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff-round tie on Thursday at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. The hosts will be eying to reach the Europa League group stage for the third consecutive time. However, the visitors have never competed in the group stage of any major European competition.
Olympiacos defeated Belgian side Genk 2-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round. Side by side, Olympiacos kick-started the new domestic campaign with a 2-0 victory at home against 10-man Panserraikos on Sunday. The Red-Whites had to wait until the 63rd minute to break the deadlock courtesy of a sweet strike from Pep Biel. Eventually, Youssef El-Arabi sealed the victory with an 87th-minute penalty. Olympiacos boss Diego Martinez praised the “patience and perseverance” of his players. The 47-time Greek Super League champions are seeking to win back their top-flight crown.
Meanwhile, Cukaricki will enter the Europa League playoff round after finishing third in the Serbian SuperLiga for the third successive season in 2022-23. The Highlanders began the new domestic season with two wins and one draw in their opening three league games. But their unbeaten start came to an end last Friday when they suffered a 3-0 away defeat to IMT. Manager Milan Lesnjak admitted after the disappointing loss that his side “did not look like ourselves”. Lesnjak is aware that his Cukaricki side are underdogs heading into Thursday’s contest. Nevertheless, the Serbian side can bounce back with a dogged display in Greece to claim at least a draw. A draw will provide them with a huge boost ahead of the second leg in Belgrade.
Olympiacos’ probable starting lineup: Paschalakis, Quini, Retsos, Freire, Ramon, Camara, Iborra, Masouras, Carvalho, Fortounis, El Arabi
Cukaricki’s probable starting lineup: Filipovic, Rogan, Calasan, Drezgic, Stevanovic, Sissoko, Docic, Owusu, Miladinovic, Adzic, Badamosi
Olympiacos
| Opponents | Score |
| Panserraikos | 2-0 (W) |
| Genk | 1-1 (D) |
| Genk | 1-0 (W) |
| Norwich | 2-0 (L) |
| Rangers | 1-3 (W) |
Cukaricki
| Opponents | Score |
| IMT | 3-0 (L) |
| Javor | 2-2 (D) |
| Radnicki | 1-2 (W) |
| Radnicki | 2-0 (W) |
| Zeleznicar | 0-0 (D) |
The two teams are meeting at this level of competition for the first time.
The UEFA Europa League Qualification match between Olympiacos and Cukaricki will take place at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on Friday at 12:30 am IST.
| Olympiacos vs Cukaricki | Key Details |
| Date | August 24 (Greece) |
| Venue | Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Serbia | 9:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in Greece | 10:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 12:30 am |
For Chinese fans, this match will be telecasted on QQ Sports Live. While those in Greece can watch the match on Cosmote Sport 1 HD. In North Macedonia and Montenegro, the match will be shown on Arena Sport 2P. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the streaming of the match will happen on Moja TV and Arena Sport 2P.
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