Olympiacos is set for a trip to Stade de la Beaujoire for a clash against Nantes this week in the inaugural Europa League fixture. Match day schedules for September 8 at 22:00 EAT.
The hosts made a direct entry into the Europa League courtesy of their memorable Coupe de France triumph last term, Nantes made waves in the French football landscape under Antoine Kombouare last term, but stamping their authority has proven more difficult this time around. Coming into this game, they have recorded only one win in their last seven matches.
Antoine Kombouaré will seek improved results following 0-3 Ligue 1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in their previous game. In that match, Nantes managed 41% possession and 10 shots with one of them on target. Paris Saint-Germain got 19 shots with seven of them on target and goals by Kylian Mbappé (18′, 54′) and Nuno Mendes (68′).
Meanwhile, Olympiacos will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven matches. After a disappointing start to the season, which saw the Greek champions eliminated from the UCL qualifiers and Pedro Martins replaced by Carlos Corberan at the head coach position, the team has fought its way towards the seven-game unbeaten streak.
Olympiacos gets into this game off the back of 3-1 Super League victory over Ionikos in their previous encounter. In that game, Olympiacos had 48% possession, 12 shots with three of them on target and goals scored by Andreas Bouchalakis (17′), Pep Biel (45′) and Youssef El-Arabi (95′). Ionikos got nine shots with two of them on target and a goal by Javier Mendoza (49′).
Nantes vs. Olympiacos head to head
Thursday’s fixture will be the first head to head encounter between Nantes and Olympiacos.
Here are their last five encounters:
Home
- Nantes 0-3 PSG
- Strasbourg Alsace 1-1 Nantes
- Nantes 3-1 Toulouse
- Marseille 2-1 Nantes
- Nantes 1-1 Lille
Away
- Olympiacos 3-1 Ionikos Nikea
- Tripolis 0-0 Olympiacos
- Olympiacos 3-1 Apollon Limassol
- Olympiacos 2-0 Giannina
- Apollon Limassol 1-1 Olympiacos
Nantes team news
Charles Traoré will be unavailable for the host’s selection through injury for this game.
Olympiacos team news
Mathieu Valbuena and Sime Vrsaljko miss out Carlos Corberán’ squad through injuries while Ousseynou Ba, Kenny Lala, Doron Leidner, Philip Zinckernagel, Diby Keita, Konstantinos Fortounis, Leonardo Koutris, Ahmed Hassan, Ögmundur Kristinsson, Lazar Randjelovic, Konrad de la Fuente and Aguibou Camara are suspended for this game.
Prediction and odds
- Olympiacos Win
- Draw
- Both teams to score
