Olympiakos - Ferencvaros predictions and free betting tips [15/02/2024]

The playoffs of European club tournaments have started. On my page, we contemplate the first matches of the 1/16 finals, where all unseeded clubs ended up after the draw, these include those who took third positions in the group stage of the Europa League and the second lines in the Europa Conference League blocks. So, the first confrontation in the ECL playoffs is a battle between those who took the second line of the third most important European club tournament and the clubs that slid down from the EL. Let's start with Olympiacos and Ferencvaros, whose confrontation begins in Greece. 

Olympiacos

The Greek club is having a challenging season. The European cups started for Olympiacos with the EL qualification, after which they got a very problematic group, which included the unpredictable Freiburg, the current EL champion, West Ham of London, and Bačka Topola from Serbia. Footballers under the guidance of Diego Martínez, and then Karlush Carvaljal, failed to get out of the group of the EL playoffs, but ended up in the ECL, which is also good.

Just recently, Olympiacos acquired a new head coach, who turned out to be Spaniard Jose Luis Mendilibar. Following the elimination from the Greek Cup and lying fourth in the Super League, the club's management dismissed Karlush Cavaljala, apparently no longer trusting him. On the eve of the ECL playoffs, the "Legends" were managed by Sotiris Silaidopoulos, who did not stay at Olympiacos because no one asked, and he couldn't get involved as Mendilibar's assistant either because the Spaniard brought his staff to the Greek club.

Although the squad of "Legends" may not be that well-known and got a bit lost given the ban on some players participating in this season's ECL, there are certain leaders. Georgios Masouras is highly praised, who is beneficial in the championship, with (7 4) in terms of goals and assists, and Konstantinos Fortounis is perfect as a versatile captain and midfielder, he has (6 5) in the championship and (3 7) in 10 EL matches, which confirms his dominance on the field. In defence, Olympiacos will miss the injured Panagiotis Retsos, who sustained a muscle injury before the match against Panathinaikos in the championship.

Despite the difficulties in assembling players, Mendilibar's team will face most difficulties in terms of game organization, as a coach's arrival always makes it difficult to quickly adapt to him. Ferencvaros is a challenging opponent, so the Greek club cannot be considered an unequivocal favourite in the first game of the confrontation.

Ferencvaros

The Hungarian team ended up in the ECL group after the qualifiers, initially they started in the qualifiers for the Champions League but lost there to Klaksvík, and then slid down to the ECL where they passed three controversies. In the group, Ferencvaros did not have any losses, but there were enough draws, which allowed Fiorentina to take first place and move to the 1/8 finals of the playoffs seeded.

In the championship, the Hungarian club is once again claiming the first place, sometimes it happens that Ferencvaros has to compete over the season distance in the Premier League, as it is now, and sometimes it happens that they create a gap and can fully focus on the Eurocup battles.

With Dejan Stankovic, Ferencvaros' squad changes much more frequently than with Stanislav Cherchesov. The midfield is especially significant for the current coach of the Hungarian club. There played Digbo Maiga and Stepan Loncar, whom the club bought in this winter period the diagram of the midfield changes when the flanks dip down a little, for example, Markinis and Zachariassen, if needed to reinforce the midfield. The Ferencvaros goalkeeper Denes Dibusz deserves a special mention, who saved a lot during the matches of the ECL group.

Ferencvaros usually plays in an attacking style, pushing the midfield forward, so there is no doubt that against Olympiacos the Hungarians will try to act fast in transitional phases, and we will also see how the "Fradi" attack will look, where Barnabas Varga should go forward, who manages to distinguish himself with productivity everywhere, even in matches for the national team.

Match prediction: Olympiacos - Ferencvaros

The Greek club is adjusting to a new coach, and Ferencvaros has football ready for application. I bet on handicap 2 (0), I think a draw would be suitable for this match.