Olympiacos vs Leverkusen Prediction
🔊 Have Bayer learned their lesson from their January trip to the "Karaiskakis"? In the first leg of this playoff, Olympiacos will once again host the Leverkusen side in Piraeus. Let's recall that in the seventh round of the group stage, the "red-and-whites" defeated the "pharmacists," although, in our humble opinion, that result didn't quite reflect the run of play. Perhaps that's why bookmakers see the upcoming clash as evenly matched, with the hosts only holding the advantage of playing at home.
Head-to-Head
📊 The recent Champions League encounter is still fresh in memory, where Olympiacos outplayed Bayer 2-0 at the Karaiskakis Stadium during the seventh round. Goals from Kostinha and Mehdi Taremi in the first half secured the victory, with Rodinei Marcelo de Almeida providing two assists.
H2H Stats Matches and Previous Teams Results
Olympiacos Team Overview
🔴 Jose Luis Mendilibar's squad finished 18th overall: three wins, two draws, and three losses (11 points) with a goal difference of 10:14. All three victories came in the final rounds: besides Bayer, the red and whites defeated Kairat (1-0) and Ajax (2-1). In Amsterdam, goals from Gelson Martins and Santiago Esse secured Olympiacos a place in the playoffs.
⚪ Olympiacos then played four matches in the Greek Super League, securing one win, two draws, and suffering one defeat. After 21 rounds, the red and whites are in second place, trailing the leader by two points. Their last home match ended in a defeat to Panathinaikos (0-1). The club's most recent game was an away fixture against Levadiakos, where despite playing with a man advantage for more than a half, Olympiacos couldn't secure a win (0-0).
Match Results: Olympiacos
Bayer Leverkusen Team Overview
⚫ After their defeat in Piraeus in the final round, Bayer needed a home victory against Villarreal (3-0) to secure a playoff spot. The match turned out to be quite straightforward for the Leverkusen side: Malik Tillman netted a brace in the first half, and Alejandro Grimaldo sealed the emphatic win with a late goal. Kasper Hjulmand's team finished in 16th place with three wins, three draws, and two losses, with a goal difference of 13:14.
🔴 Overall, following their loss to Olympiacos, the "pharmacists" have played six matches across various competitions, securing five victories and one draw. The club advanced to the semifinals of the German Cup by defeating St. Pauli (3-0), and in their latest Bundesliga outing, they recorded an even more commanding victory over the same opponent (4-0). Kwansa, Schick, Tapsoba, and Poku each found the back of the net. After 22 rounds, Bayer sit in sixth place, trailing the Champions League spots by three points but with a game in hand.
Match Results: Bayer Leverkusen
Latest news
Olympiacos
🎙️ José Luis Mendilibar after the match against Levadiakos: "We started the game well. We dominated and primarily tried to attack from the wings, but we struggled to pose any real threat to the opponent's goal. In the second half, we pushed even harder, yet the opponent, playing with ten men, dropped deep into their penalty area, demanding extra effort from us. We sent in crosses from the flanks, but they lacked quality. We tried different approaches, but our accuracy was off, and we couldn't fully capitalize on our numerical advantage to create more danger. The team needs to be sharper, especially when we have a numerical edge. However, when the opposition defends deep, attacking becomes more challenging."
❌ Mehdi Taremi missed the previous match, and his participation in Wednesday's game remains uncertain.
Bayer Leverkusen
🎙️ Kasper Hjulmand's reaction to the win over St. Pauli: "We delivered a very strong performance against a tough opponent and excelled particularly in our ball control today. This was something we had been lacking previously, so we needed to showcase our best. We aim to use this victory as a catalyst for the upcoming matches. Our work on set pieces was at a high level."
❌ Eliesse Ben Seghir, Mark Flekken, and Nathan Tella remain sidelined. Ibrahim Maza made his return in the last match.
🟨 Referee and Yellow Cards
João Pinheiro has been appointed as the main referee at "Karaiskakis". In his last ten matches, he averages 5.6 yellow cards per game. Olympiacos average 2.1 yellow cards in the Champions League, while Leverkusen average 1.5. We're opting for over 2.5 yellow cards, which has hit in 6 out of Bayer's last 8 Champions League games.
⚽ Goal Prediction
Considering this is their first encounter, we don't anticipate a high-scoring affair and choose under 3.5 goals, a bet that has come through in 11 consecutive Olympiacos matches.
🚩 Corner Prediction
Olympiacos average 4.5 corners in the Champions League, while Bayer averages 4.9. We're going with under 10.5 corners, a bet that has been successful in all of Olympiacos's Champions League matches and their last five consecutive games.
🚀 Player Stats Bet
Alejandro Grimaldo is one of Bayer's top scorers in the Champions League, with 5 (4 goals and 1 assist) points. In the current Bundesliga season, the midfielder has 10 (5 goals and 5 assists) contributions. The Spaniard is also renowned for his free-kick prowess: by mid-November, Grimaldo had already scored four free-kicks in the 2025/26 season-two against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, and one each against Copenhagen in the Champions League and Paderborn in the German Cup. We're backing Alejandro Grimaldo to score with odds of 5.8*.
😱 Risky Bet
Olympiacos have drawn in the second half in five consecutive home matches. Bayer shows similar stats, with 6 out of their last 7 away games ending in a second-half draw. Therefore, our bet is a second-half draw, just like in their previous head-to-head match, with odds of 2.6*.
👀 If the Match Doesn't Go as Planned
The "Red-Whites" need to score, but what if the hosts fail to find the net in the upcoming game? Perhaps Leverkusen will play more conservatively compared to their last meeting, mindful of the return leg at home, and prevent Olympiacos from scoring, as they did in the previous two matches against them. Additionally, Bayer have kept clean sheets in 4 out of their last 6 games. Consider betting on Olympiacos under 1 goal with odds of 2.47.
*Odds are approximate and may vary across different bookmakers.
Editor's Prediction
Bayer have found the net in every group stage match of the Champions League except for one - at the "Karaiskakis" in the seventh round. Kasper Hjulmand and his coaching staff have learned from that defeat, and now they have a chance to extend their impressive run.
It might not be about immediate revenge here: a draw in Piraeus would be a solid result for the Leverkusen side. Therefore, our main prediction is Bayer will not lose. Olympiacos have only managed one win in their last four matches, so a narrow victory for the visitors, like a 1-0 scoreline, is also quite possible.
Betting Tips: Olympiacos - Bayer Leverkusen
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Comparison of Teams Stats
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