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Olympiacos
Champions League | Group Stage
Nov 25, 2020 at 5.55pm UK
Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki
Manchester City logo
Olympiacos
0 - 1
Man City

Rafinha (39')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Foden (36')
Sterling (39'), Dias (54'), Gundogan (86')

Preview: Olympiacos vs. Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Champions League clash between Olympiacos and Manchester City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Manchester City will be looking to put their latest Premier League title setback behind them when they resume their Champions League campaign with a trip to Olympiacos.

The Citizens lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend and are down in 13th in the Premier League, but they have won three from three in Europe to top Group C.


Match preview

Potty mouth Kevin De Bruyne in action for Manchester City on November 21, 2020© Reuters

Not since 2008-09, long before Pep Guardiola's arrival, have City had as few as 12 points from their opening 12 Premier League matches.

The Citizens' tally of 10 goals scored, meanwhile, is the fewest they have managed since 2006-07 when finishing 14th under Stuart Pearce.

City may be an entirely different club now, but they have certainly not started the campaign like a European powerhouse and Guardiola needs to get a response out of his players.

The good news for the Catalan coach, who signed a new two-year deal last week, is that progress to the last 16 of the Champions League looks pretty routine from this point.

City defeated Porto 3-1 in their opening group match and have brushed aside Marseille and Olympiacos by the same 3-0 scoreline, giving them nine points from nine.

A point against Greek champions Olympiacos on Wednesday should be enough to see City through with two games - away to Porto and home to Marseille - still to play.

Manchester City's Rodri in action with Olympiacos' Ruben Semedo in the Champions League on November 3, 2020© Reuters

Olympiacos ideally need a victory to keep alive their slim hopes of progressing, having lost to Porto and Man City in their last two games without scoring.

Pedro Martins's side did beat Marseille 1-0 in their opening match, though, and they were not as bad in the reverse meeting with City as the scoreline suggests.

Indeed, speaking after that game, Martins said: "If we can play like we did in the second half, we can get something more out of the next encounter."

Olympiacos have only won one of their last eight games against English teams in European competition, but that lone victory came against Arsenal in February.

This will be City's first away game against a Greek opponent since February 2011, meanwhile, when they drew 0-0 with Aris Thessaloniki in the Europa League.

Olympiacos Champions League form: WLL
Olympiacos form (all competitions): WLWLWW

Manchester City Champions League form: WWW
Manchester City form (all competitions): DWWWDL


Team News

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero in action on October 17, 2020© Reuters

After making his return from injury as a substitute in the loss to Tottenham, Raheem Sterling is in contention to start this match.

Striker Sergio Aguero watched on from the bench for the full 90 minutes, but this might present Guardiola with an opportunity to ease him back into the side.

Oleksandr Zinchenko, Benjamin Mendy, Fernandinho and Nathan Ake are all fitness doubts, however, and are unlikely to play any part in Piraeus.

Ferran Torres has scored in each of his first three Champions League appearances for City, and could become only the third player to score in four consecutive games for the club.

As for the hosts, Mathieu Valbuena has been ruled out, while Bruma, Ruben Vinagre and Jose Holebas are carrying knocks.

Olympiacos' squad has been further depleted after Youssef El-Arabi, Ahmed Mahgoub and Vasilis Sourlis all tested positive for coronavirus.

Konstantinos Fortounis is in line to lead the attack, with Lazar Randjelovic - who has no goals and no assists in this year's competition - providing support.

Olympiacos possible starting lineup:
Sa; Drager, Semedo, Cisse, Rafinha; M'Vila, Bouchalakis, Camara; Randjelovic, Fortounis, Masouras

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Sterling, Aguero, Foden


SM words green background

We say: Olympiacos 0-2 Manchester City

Man City are looking to win their opening four Champions League group games for the second time under Guardiola, three years on from last achieving that feat.

The visitors have won their last two games in the competition without conceding and, despite their disappointing domestic form, we can see them extending that run on Wednesday.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:data


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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 45.88%. A win for Olympiacos had a probability of 32.49% and a draw had a probability of 21.6%.

The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-3 (5.66%) and 0-1 (5.34%). The likeliest Olympiacos win was 2-1 (7.16%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (8.75%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 5.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester City would win this match.


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Group A

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4Man Utd61144

Group B

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QArsenal641113
QPSV62319
3Lens62228
4Sevilla60242

Group C

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QNapoli631210
3Braga61144
4Union Berlin60242

Group D

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QInter Milan633012
3Benfica61144
4Salzburg61144

Group E

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QAtletico642014
QLazio631210
3Feyenoord62046
4Celtic61144

Group F

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QDortmund632111
QPSG62228
3AC Milan62228
4Newcastle61235

Group G

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QMan City660018
QRB Leipzig640212
3Young Boys61144
4Red Star60151

Group H

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QBarcelona640212
QPorto640212
3Shakhtar63039
4Antwerp61053

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