Olympiacos Piraeus vs Jagiellonia Prediction & Tips | Europa League - League phase | FootballTips.app

Olympiacos begin their Europa League campaign at home to Jagiellonia Białystok after dropping out of Champions League qualifying, while the Polish visitors arrive having successfully negotiated the Europa League play-offs. Imanol Alguacil’s side are looking to recover from a disappointing European exit and a surprise domestic defeat at the weekend.

The Greek champions were eliminated 2-1 on aggregate by NEC Nijmegen in the Champions League third qualifying round. After a goalless first leg in Piraeus, Olympiacos lost 2-1 after extra time in the Netherlands, with Ayoub El Kaabi scoring their only goal of the tie.

Jagiellonia reached the league phase in far more convincing fashion, beating Iberia 1999 6-1 on aggregate. A 4-0 home victory gave them control of the tie before Jesús Imaz and Anders Klynge scored in a 2-1 away win to complete qualification.

This will be the first competitive meeting between the clubs, although Olympiacos beat them 5-0 in a friendly in 2019. The hosts have not won their opening match in any of their last four major European campaigns, while Jagiellonia are entering their third consecutive season in the main phase of a UEFA competition.

The visitors also travel with an impressive continental away record, remaining unbeaten on the road in Europe since the start of last season. Olympiacos, by contrast, have won only one of their last six European home matches and were beaten 1-0 by OFI Crete in their most recent domestic outing.

Even so, the hosts retain a considerable advantage in experience and individual quality. El Kaabi's absence significantly reduces their attacking threat, but with Jota Silva, Leon Bailey and Chiquinho supporting Armando González, Olympiacos should still have enough creativity to test a Jagiellonia defence stepping up to a stronger level of competition.