Slovan Bratislava – Olympiacos

On the field of the Slovakian champions, the Greeks will have the final success

One of the most interesting pairings in the semi-final stage of the Europa League qualifiers will play the return leg in Bratislava. The teams will take to the pitch of the Tegelne Pole stadium with a 1-1 scoreline following their encounter a week ago. Back then, Olympiacos enjoyed a slight territorial and match advantage, but the Greek club was forced to pull back. Slovenia got their first goal on 63 minutes thanks to the efforts of Green, and El-Araby equalized with just a few minutes left before the end of regulation time. Given that Olympiacos were regarded as clear favourites to win the first leg, the Piraeus club's attitude towards the upcoming game should be very different. Especially since the Greek team have already suffered one humiliation on their way to the European Cup this season. Last season, in the last round of the UEFA Champions League qualifying, Olympiacos only let Maccabi tie in the second half on the Israeli field, but the Greeks suffered a nightmare at home. The visitors from Haifa methodically kept beating the favourites the entire game and took a 4-0 win away from Karaiskakis. The Slovak club also started their European Cup season in qualifying for Europe's elite tournament, and in equally embarrassing style missed out on a 2-1 away win over Ferencvaros. At home to Bratislava, Slovan held aggregate parity with their opponents for a long time, but conceded twice in the closing stages to head to the Europa League. Given the abolition of the away goal rule, the rivalry with the Greeks will begin with a clean sheet in the upcoming match. In terms of personnel potential, Slovan are inferior to their opponents, but the Slovakian club's long-standing national championship is in their favour. There, last year's champion tops the standings with three wins in four rounds. The clubs already crossed paths in last year's Europa League qualifiers. Back then, Olympiacos had actually made it through to the group stage already in the first leg, beating their opponents 3-0, so Bratislava were able to play with less fervour, 2-2. Despite the Slovaks' home-field factor, we'll put our money on the Greek side's win.