Preview: Olympiacos vs Real Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

European kings Real Madrid will be chasing history on Wednesday evening, with the Spanish giants looking to beat Olympiacos away from home in the Champions League for the first time.

Los Blancos are seventh in the overall Champions League table, boasting nine points from their first four games in the league phase of the competition, while the Greek giants are down in 31st spot on two points.

Match preview

It has been a struggle for Olympiacos in the Champions League this season, boasting a record of two draws and two defeats from their four matches to leave them down in 31st spot in the overall table on two points.

Jose Luis Mendilibar's side have drawn with FC Pafos and PSV Eindhoven in this season's competition, in addition to losing to Arsenal and Barcelona, and they have another tough test on Wednesday against the kings of Europe.

The Red-Whites will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 home success over Atromitos, with the result moving them onto 28 points from their 11 games in their domestic division, sitting two points clear of second-placed PAOK at the summit of the Greek Super League table.

Olympiacos have actually won four of their last five games in all competitions - remaining unbeaten in the process - during an excellent run, and they have never lost to Real Madrid on home soil.

Indeed, three of the four meetings between the two sides in Greece have finished level, including a goalless draw in their last clash in November 2007, while Olympiacos beat Los Blancos 2-1 at home in December 2005.

Each of Real Madrid's four previous wins over Olympiacos have come on home soil, so the Spanish giants will be looking to create history on Wednesday night, but Xabi Alonso's side will not enter the game in the best of form.

Indeed, Los Blancos have not been victorious since a 4-0 home success over Valencia in La Liga at the start of November; since then, the capital team have played three times in all competitions, drawing twice and losing once.

Real Madrid have drawn with Rayo Vallecano and Elche in their last two league matches, but they still sit at the top of the La Liga table, one point ahead of second-placed Barcelona.

In the Champions League, Los Blancos have won three of their four games this term, beating Marseille, Kairat Almaty and Juventus in their opening three fixtures, before losing 1-0 to Liverpool last time out, and nine points from four games has left them in seventh spot in the overall table.

There is already speculation surrounding Alonso's future, with a number of players said to be happy with the Spaniard's management, and another disappointing result on Wednesday would only add to the criticism.

Olympiacos Champions League form:

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Olympiacos form (all competitions):

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Real Madrid Champions League form:

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Real Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Olympiacos will again be without the services of Alexandros Paschalakis and Konstantinos Angelakis due to injuries, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape, with no further issues reported.

Dani Garcia is one booking away from a Champions League suspension, but the 35-year-old will again be in the Olympiacos XI on Wednesday night, and he has plenty of experience of facing Real Madrid following his time in La Liga with Real Sociedad, Eibar and Athletic Bilbao.

Ayoub El Kaabi is having an excellent season, scoring 10 times in 16 appearances, and the 32-year-old will once again lead the line, while there should be a spot in a wide area for former Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker Daniel Podence.

As for Real Madrid, Dani Carvajal (knee), Eder Militao (groin) and Franco Mastantuono (groin) are out of the contest, while Antonio Rudiger (muscle) and David Alaba (muscle) are also absent.

Thibaut Courtois has also not made the trip due to an illness, while Dean Huijsen is out due to discomfort, so the returning Aurelien Tchouameni could feature in the middle of the defence.

Head coach Alonso will make changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Elche in La Liga, with Vinicius Junior, Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga in line to return.

There could be a switch to a 4-3-1-2 formation on Saturday, with Jude Bellingham playing behind a front two of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius, while there could be another start for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Olympiacos possible starting lineup:

Tzolakis; Rodinei, Retsos, Pirola, Ortega; Garcia, Mouzakitis; Martins, Chiquinho, Podence; El Kaabi

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Lunin; Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Tchouameni, Carreras; Valverde, Camavinga, Guler; Bellingham; Mbappe, Vinicius

We say: Olympiacos 1-2 Real Madrid

This is such a difficult match to call, and we were incredibly close to picking a draw here considering Olympiacos' recent form. Real Madrid are certainly due a win, though, and we are expecting the Spanish giants to navigate their way to a very important and indeed historic victory on Wednesday night.

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