Olympiacos vs Tottenham: Champions League preview, predictions & possible XIs

Tottenham make the trip to Athens on Wednesday as last season’s finalists start their 2019/20 Champions League campaign.

Spurs will want to get an early three points under their belts to kick 0ff their European Cup dream. The Londoners will also face Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade in what is a tough group. A win in game one could settle some nerves and also provide a platform to build upon.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side are coming off the back of a superb performance against Crystal Palace that saw his side run out comfortable 4-0 winners.

Their opponents, meanwhile, smashed five past Volos on Saturday as they maintained their perfect start to the Superleague season. The Red-Whites have won all three of their dometic league matches so far and sit top of the table.

To get here, the Greek giants brushed aside Russian outfit FC Krasnodar in the Champions League play-off, beating them 6-1 on aggregate and will take confidence from that performance heading into the group stage.

When is Olympiacos vs Tottenham and where can I watch live?

Competition: UEFA Champions League

Venue: Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens

Date: Wednesday, 18 September 2019

Kick-off: 5:55 PM BST

TV coverage (UK): The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2 and can be streamed live online via the BT app and website. Coverage starts at 5.15pm

Previous meetings: Olympiacos vs Tottenham

Wednesday, 25 October 1972: Tottenham 4-0 Olympiacos (UEFA Cup, second round, 1st leg)

Wednesday, 08 November 1972: Olympiacos 1-0 Tottenham (UEFA Cup, second round, 2nd leg)

Ones to watch

Olympiacos: Mathieu Valbuena

The former Marseille midfielder has a wealth of experience both at European level and on the international stage. He sits behind the front man pulling the strings for the Red-Whites and can drift between the lines, which will cause Tottenham problems.

The 34-year-old has netted twice in his first three games for the club this season and his intelligent passing will allow forwards Youseff El-Arabi and Daniel Podence to make the kind of runs that the Frenchman just loves to pick out.

Key stat: Olympiacos have won all three league games so far this season, with Valbuena netting twice.

Tottenham Hotspur: Harry Kane

There can be only one. Harry Kane is having a strong season with Spurs – after a rare summer off – and leads the side both on and off the pitch. His level head will be needed against Olympiacos, who are bound to crank up the atmosphere in their home stadium.

He has scored three times in the first four games in the Premier League this season for Spurs and has also netted four times for England in his last two international appearances.

Key stat: Harry Kane has had 14 shot in the Premier League this season, more than any other Spurs teammate.

Team news

Olympiacos

Ruben Semedo is a doubt despite being back in training following a knee injury while long-term absentee Konstantinos Fortounis will definitely miss out with an ACL injury.

Predicted XI: Sa, Elabdellaoui, Cisse, Meriah, Koutris, Camara, Guilherme, Randelovic, Valbuena, Podence, El-Arabi.

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Totteham

Kyle Walker-Peters is a doubt with a hamstring injury while Juan Foyth remains out due to an ankle injury picked up in pre-season.

Eric Dyer was on the bench against Palace at the weekend but may not be risked in Athens and Davinson Sanchez is unlikely to feature due to a minor ankle injury picked up while on international duty.

Giovani Lo Celso is out, as is Ryan Sessegnon.

Predicted XI: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Winks, Skipp, Ndombele; Lucas, Kane, Dele.

Squawka prediction

Going to Greece will be no easy task for Tottenham, especially against a team in good form and high in confidence. There is no doubt that Spurs have by far the better squad but, as they demonstrated last season away to PSV, that does not guarantee a win.

That said, Tottenham are coming off one of their most clinical performances of the season and should be able to get a positive result in Athens.

Scoreline prediction: Olympiacos 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur