Olympiacos will travel to Turkey on Thursday evening to play the second match of their Europa League campaign as they attempt to maintain their position at the top of Group D.

Fenerbahce drew their opening game in the competition and head into this match on the back of two victories in the Super Lig, which is a run they would no doubt like to extend.

Match preview

Fenerbahce's Mesut Ozil pictured in February 2021 © Reuters

Fenerbahce currently have one point in the Europa League after they drew their opening game against Eintracht Frankfurt, and despite Mezut Ozil giving his team the lead in the 10th minute, the hosts were able to fight back to secure a 1-1 result.

The Turkish team had to go through the playoffs to be part of the competition this year, and they knocked out Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi with a 6-2 victory on aggregate to secure a place in Group D.

This means the team have gone three matches without a loss in the tournament, something they will be attempting to extend on Thursday, where a victory could put them on top heading into the third game.

Their form has been impressive so far this season, with Fenerbahce currently top of the Super Lig after the opening seven matches, where they have lost only once.

The Sari Kanaryalar were in league action on Sunday when they defeated Hatayspor, with first-half goals from Diego Rossi and Filip Novak helping them to earn the three points.

Fenerbahce have not been involved in the Europa League since the 2018-19 competition, where they reached the round of 32, being knocked out by Zenit Saint Petersburg, and they will be hoping to progress past that point this time.

Olympiacos coach Pedro Martins in the Europa League on February 18, 2021 © Reuters

Much like their opponents, Olympiacos sit at the top of their respective league - they are undefeated, although there have only been four games so far.

After drawing their opening match of the season, the Greek team have gone on to win the following three games, scoring eight goals while only conceding twice.

Pedro Martins did have the chance to take his squad into the Champions League this season, but they were unable to win their third-round qualifying match against Ludogorets, being knocked out on penalties.

However, they did earn the right to be part of the Europa League by defeating Slovan Bratislava in their playoff match, and Olympiacos followed that up with a victory in their first group game as well.

A goal from Youssef El-Arabi originally gave his team the lead against Royal Antwerp, but after they conceded an equaliser it would take a late 87th-minute finish from left-back Oleg Reabciuk to secure the three points.

They were involved in the competition last season, joining after finishing third in their Champions League group, and reached the round of 16, eventually being knocked out by Arsenal.

Fenerbahce Europa League form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Olympiacos Europa League form:

Olympiacos form (all competitions):

Team News

Olympiacos' Youssef El-Arabi celebrates scoring against Arsenal in the Europa League on March 18, 2021 © Reuters

Rossi was able to keep his place in the starting XI at the weekend, and after finding the back of the net in that game, he will likely be involved again this Thursday.

Ozil was rested in the Super Lig on Sunday, appearing from the bench later in the game, but considering his vast amount of experience playing in European competitions, he is expected to return to the team.

While Jose Sosa and Marcel Tisserand are both unavailable through injuries, after a positive result during their last outing, Vitor Pereira might not make too many changes to his team.

Tiquinho Soares was able to find the back of the net at the weekend as he led the line in the 2-0 victory against Asteras Tripolis, and he is expected to be the striker again in midweek.

However, El-Arabi will remain another attacking option for Olympiacos, as he was used from the bench on Sunday, while Martins is likely to keep the same back four that kept a clean sheet in that game.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Bayindir; Novak, Kim, Szalai; Gustavo, Ozil, Kadioglu, Gumuskaya; Rossi, Berisha; Valencia

Olympiacos possible starting lineup:
Vaclik; Karbownik, Cisse, Papastathopoulos, Reabciuk; Carnara, Bouchalakis; Masouras, Camara, Onyekuru; Tiquinho

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We say: Fenerbahce 1-1 Olympiacos

Both teams head into this game with a lot of confidence due to how they are performing in their respective leagues, with each club sitting at the top of their tables.

Because of that, they will each have no shortage of momentum, but that could lead to a draw in this particular match as they could end up cancelling each other out with their attacking qualities meeting stubborn defences.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals 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.

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 Fenerbahce win with a probability of 37.8%. A win for Olympiacos had a probability of 36.04% and a draw had a probability of 26.2%.

The most likely scoreline for a Fenerbahce win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.56%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.32%) and 2-0 (6.4%). The likeliest Olympiacos win was 0-1 (9.29%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.43%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 2.6% likelihood.