TSC vs Olympiacos Piraeus prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-04 16:45.
Although the final result didn’t go their way in an eventual 3-1 away loss to West Ham on the opening matchday of this UEFA Europa League (UEL) group stage, Serbia’s TSC demonstrated that they won’t be pushovers in this season’s competition despite being one of the lowest-ranked of the 32 clubs. TSC claimed a surprise lead in that outing at London Stadium thanks to a Petar Stanić goal before collapsing defensively, something seen again during their only league outing since when they conceded a 91st minute equaliser away to Mladost Lučani at the weekend.
Perhaps a return to TSC Arena could boost confidence ahead of this crucial clash with Greek giants Olympiacos, especially as the hosts have lost just one of their prior six competitive outings here (W3, D2). That said, that defeat came in European competition via a 4-1 loss to Braga just two months ago in the Champions League third qualifying round, a result that further highlights just how difficult TSC might find the quality of opposition during their UEFA group stage debut.
Just like their next hosts, Olympiacos also found themselves on the losing end of their opening UEL group stage fixture. A late Freiburg winner saw their German opponents run out 3-2 victors. Diego MartĂnez’s side have rallied since to record three straight league wins and climb to the top of the Greek Super League after seven rounds (W6, D1) as they seek to regain their crown after last season’s disappointing third place finish.
It’s the away side’s goalscoring that has aided their early season success, illustrated by scoring in all 12 of their competitive outings so far this campaign. That includes knocking Serbian side FK Čukarički out of UEL qualifying, a tie which saw Olympiacos claim a 3-0 away win, so a return to the same country to face TSC should appear appealing on paper.
Players to watch: TSC’s Stanić scored in his side’s last home outing, whilst two of his three strikes this season have been match openers. Meanwhile, Ayoub El Kaabi remains Olympiacos’ top scorer this season with nine goals from 12 matches after he netted a brace on UEL matchday one.
Hot streak: TSC’s last four continental matches all produced over 2.5 total goals, averaging an incredible six goals per game!