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Plzen vs Olympiakos Piraeus Prediction & Betting tips
The season has yet to begin for most European clubs, but the Czech Viktoria Plzen and the Greek Olympiacos are already on the eve of perhaps their most important game of the year. After all, it is crucial for both teams to survive the preliminary rounds of the Champions League.
Viktoria Plzen:
Viktoria Plzen is now no longer a substitute for European football. The reigning champion of the Czech Republic has been playing European football uninterruptedly for four years in a row, and last season, for the third time in club history, qualified for the group stage of the Champions League. In a group with Real Madrid, AS Roma, and CSKA Moscow, the Czechs seemed hopeless in advance, but nothing could be further from the truth. With a narrow 1-2 defeat, the team of coach Pavel Vrba almost managed to stunt the Santiago Bernabeu, but at home against CSKA Moscow and a visit to AS Roma, it was a hit with two wins. With seven points, Viktoria Plzen managed to seize third place in Group G of the Champions League, after which Dinamo Zagreb turned out to be a size too big in the sixteenth finals of the Europa League.
Little has changed this summer at Viktoria Plzen. Although the club with Patrik Hrosovsky who left for Genk lost an important mainstay, the team from last year is still fairly intact. Vrba is also planning to make it high again this season, as he only gave his players a two-week holiday this summer. The Czechs have been running for more than a month and a half, and the Czech competition has already started. The red-blue are still clear after two rounds, as both Sigma Olomouc (3-1) and Slovan Liberec (1-2) were defeated. Midfielder Jan Kopic in particular is in good shape, as he scored in both league games. In the back, however, the Czechs are vulnerable.
Olympiacos:
Olympiacos is of course also a big name in European football, although that is mainly based on past results. In 1999, for example, the Greeks grabbed next to a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League, and in 1993 they reached the quarter-finals of the then European Cup II. Last year, however, Olympiacos did not get any further than the sixteenth finals of the Europa League, in which Dynamo Kiev turned out to be too strong. In addition, the red and white had to leave the Greek league title to PAOK.
Olympiacos is therefore looking for reparation this season, and qualifying for the main event of the Champions League would of course mean a huge step in the right direction. Trainer Pedro Martins welcomed several new players this summer, including former French international Mathieu Valbuena. The Greek Super League will only start at the end of next month, but Olympiacos has so far managed to remain unbeaten throughout its preparation. The big blemish, however, is the loss of star player Kostas Fortounis, who is unlikely to take action this calendar year. The playmaker is by far the best player of Olympiacos, and will therefore be missed in the diptych against Viktoria Plzen.