Olympiacos Piraeus vs Ferencvaros prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-02-14 17:45.
Olympiacos came third in their UEFA Europa League group (W2, D1, L3), and their reward for finishing behind West Ham and Freiburg is this Europa Conference League knockout round play-off. Now coached by José Luis Mendilibar, the man who led Sevilla to Europa League success last term, they come into this clash with Ferencvåros on the back of a thumping 4-0 league win over OFI Crete.
That ought to inspire some confidence, as should Europa League group stage wins here over West Ham (2-1) and TSC (5-2). They probably canât draw much from their past performances against Hungarian sides though, as their only previous meeting â a 2-2 draw here against FerencvĂĄros â was back in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup in a two-legged tie they lost 5-3 on aggregate.
FerencvĂĄros, unbeaten in the Europa Conference League group stages (W2, D4), have more to go on in that regard as theyâve played Greek opponents eight times in European football and have had the better of those encounters (W4, D2, L2 â excludes one walkover win). Currently battling for supremacy in Hungaryâs top flight with Paks, theyâve started 2024 with a three-match winning run, all of which saw both teams score, which might be a worry as they look for a solid defensive performance.
The Green Eagles havenât produced one in Greece for a while as their last two visits saw them lose âto nilâ after conceding three and four times to OFI Crete and AEK Athens respectively back in the late 1990s. More encouragingly, theyâve never lost a Europa Conference League away game (W4, D2), netting an even number of goals in all five of those matches in which there was scoring.
Players to watch: Ayoub El Kaabi scored five goals in Olympiacosâ Europa League home games this term, on three occasions netting his sideâs first goal. FerencvĂĄrosâ Barnabas Varga has struck five times across their last two games, including three goals in under five minutes against MTK!
Hot stat: Only one of FerencvĂĄrosâ European group games this term featured scoring in or before the 25th minute.