Preview: Olympiacos vs Bayer Leverkusen - prediction, team news, lineups

Dreaming of a place in the Champions League's round of 16, Bayer Leverkusen will travel to face Olympiacos at Stadio Georgios Karaiskski in their penultimate league phase game.

Thrylos have lost just one of their last nine matches across all competitions, while Die Werkself are yet to avoid defeat in 2026.

Match preview

Jose Luis Mendilibar's Olympiacos are the reigning Greek Super League champions and are currently on the hunt to retain their title, but they have once again struggled in Europe this season.

Thrylos come into this clash with just five points from their six Champions League outings so far - losing three, drawing two and winning one - a poor return that has them 29th in the table.

However, Mendilibar's side are only two points behind 24th-placed Copenhagen, and the more optimistic amongst the Olympiacos faithful would point to the fact that their sole victory (a 1-0 win over Kairat) was their most recent game in the competition.

Knowing that another triumph could lift the club into the playoff spots, the hosts will take heart from playing on their own turf in midweek, considering that they have lost just two of their home games in 2025-26.

Additionally, the crowd at Stadio Georgios Karaiskski helped the Greek giants to put up a valiant fight against Real Madrid during their last Champions League home game, even if they were undone by four goals from Kylian Mbappe in November's 4-3 loss.

Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen have not hit the heights of recent seasons this term, and head into Tuesday's vital showdown on the back of consecutive Bundesliga defeats under Kasper Hjumland.

On Saturday, Die Werkself followed up a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Stuttgart by losing 1-0 on the road against Hoffenheim, marking their third defeat in five games in the German top flight - the same number as in the preceding 20.

That being said, Hjumland's men have proven resilient in the Champions League so far, having only been beaten once to date, and they are still in with a slim chance of making the top eight.

Leverkusen currently sit 20th with nine points in UEFA's premier club competition, an equal three points above 25th-placed Benfica and three behind eighth-placed Atletico Madrid.

Hoping to see their side close the gap in midweek, fans of the visitors will be buoyed by the fact that Die Werkself are unbeaten on their travels in the Champions League, not to mention that they secured an impressive 2-0 victory over Manchester City on their last continental away day.

Olympiacos Champions League form:

Olympiacos form (all competitions):

Bayer Leverkusen Champions League form:

Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

Team News

Olymiacos have a relatively fit squad to choose from this week, though goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis remains sidelined with a calf injury, so expect to see Konstantinos Tzolakis start between the sticks.

Ahead of the shot stopper, Panagiotis Retsos looks set to partner Giulian Biancone at centre-back, given that Lorenzo Pirola is sidelined with a muscle injury.

By contrast, Leverkusen are likely to be missing six stars on Tuesday, including goalkeeper Mark Flekken due to a knee injury, and centre-backs Axel Tape-Kobrissa and Edmond Tapsoba with muscular issues.

In their absence, Janis Blaswich should be on hand to start in goal, protected by a back three of Jarell Quansah, Robert Andrich and Loic Bade.

At the opposite end of the pitch, versatile attacker Nathan Tella is not anticipated to return from his foot injury until next month, while Eliesse Ben Seghir picked up an injury at the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco.

With that in mind, Malik Tillman and Ernest Poku should line up behind striker Patrik Schick. Deeper in midfield, Exequiel Palacios is closing in on a return later this month, though Aleix Garcia and Ezequiel Fernandez should be ready to start in the meantime.

Olympiacos possible starting lineup:

Tzolakis; Rodinei, Biancone, Retsos, Ortega; Hezze, Mouzakitis; Martins, Chiquinho, Podence; Taremi

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Blaswich; Quansah, Andrich, Bade; Arthur, Garcia, Fernandez, Grimaldo; Tillman, Poku; Schick

We say: Olympiacos 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Olympiacos have found the level of opposition in the Champions League to be particularly tough, but with Leverkusen in poor form at the moment, they could take advantage.

That being said, the Bundesliga side have proven hard to beat in Europe, while the hosts have already conceded 11 goals during their home games in this tournament, so expect to see a close match regardless of the result.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.