Bayer Leverkusen vs. Olympiacos Champions League preview: Team news and predicted lineups
| Photo: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images. |
Bayer Leverkusen will be hoping to encounter zero hiccups as they welcome Olympiacos to the BayArena tomorrow. The second-leg of the knockout phase play-off gets underway at 21:00 CET – the winners advance to the last-16.
Despite the comfortable 2-0 win last week in the first-leg in Piraeus, the tie is very much still in the balance. Kasper Hjulmand said in his post-game interview that the job isn't done and "we have respect for our opponents and the qualities they have".
That victory did come at a price domestically for Leverkusen however, as they fell to a 1-0 loss against 1.FC Union Berlin on Saturday. A heavily rotated side sporting five changes succumbed to Rani Khedira's first-half goal in the German capital.
Meanwhile, Greek opposition Olympiacos bounced back with a 2-0 win on the domestic front over Panetolikos. Goals from Lorenzo Pirola and Yusuf Yazici keeping them hot on the tails and within two points of league leaders AEK Athens.
Taking on the Rhinelanders in their back garden is a tougher proposition, but they will know they can cause an upset. Don't forget José Luis Mendilibar's side also claimed a 2-0 win over Leverkusen during the league phase back in January.
Furthermore, Olympiacos will have the added motivation of reaching the last-16 for historical purposes. Should they get past that stage, they would be one of only five Greek sides ever to reach the last eight of Europe's premier competition.
Team news and predicted lineups:
Leverkusen will be without Mark Flekken (knee), while Loic Badé (hamstring) picked up a knock on Saturday. Nathan Tella (foot), Eliesse Ben Seghir and Malik Tillman (both ankle) are also doubts to feature on Tuesday night.
As for Olympiacos, their bill of health looks better by comparison. Theofanis Bakoulas and Konstantinos Angelakis (both ACL tears) are likely to be the only players who don't make the flight to Germany.
Click here to see our predicted lineups for Bayer Leverkusen vs. Olympiacos.
