The Matchday 5 encounter in the 2024/25 Europa League between FCSB (Romania) and Olympiacos (Greece) will take place on November 28 at the National Arena in Bucharest. FCSB vs. Olympiacos: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)
Matches – 12 (International matches, 2023/24–2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 51;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.2;
Red cards shown – 2;
Average fouls per match – 23;
Penalties – 17%.
Predicted lineups for FCSB vs. Olympiacos
FCSB (4-3-3): Stefan Tarnovanu – Valentin Cretu, Mihai Popescu, Siyabonga Ngezana, Risto Radunovic – Alexandru Baluta, Adrian Sut, Florin Tanase – Marius Stefanescu, David Miculescu, Daniel Birlighea.
Olympiacos (4-2-3-1): Konstantinos Tzolakis – Panagiotis Retsos, David Carmo, Apostolos Apostolopoulos, Costinha – Santiago Esse, Christos Mouzakitis – Gelson Martins, Chiquinho, Rodinei – Ayoub El Kaabi.
Each team’s lineup reflects their starting eleven from their previous match in this tournament.
FCSB
Elias Charalambous's side secured a 2-0 home victory over Denmark's Midtjylland in the previous round. This win marked FCSB's fourth in their last five Europa League matches, with the team keeping a clean sheet in three of those encounters. With nine points in the standings, the team has climbed to eighth place.
- The club has won in regular time in 4 of their last 5 home Europa League matches.
- No more than two goals have been scored in 90 minutes in 5 of the team's last 7 home games in this competition.
- The Romanians have conceded a maximum of one goal in regular time in 6 of their last 7 home matches in the Europa League.
Olympiacos
In the last round, José Luis Mendilibar's side drew 1-1 at home against Scotland's Rangers. As a result, Olympiacos, having started the group stage with a loss to France's Lyon (0-2), has remained unbeaten in three consecutive Europa League matches (2 wins, 1 draw). With seven points, the Greeks are in 11th place in the standings.
Midfielders Yusuf Yazici and Santiago Esse will miss the match due to injuries.
- The club has lost in regular time in 3 of their last 4 away Europa League matches.
- No more than two goals have been scored in 90 minutes in 6 of the team's last 9 away games in this competition.
- At least one of the opponents failed to score in regular time in 5 of the Greeks' last 6 away Europa League matches.
FCSB vs. Olympiacos: Match Prediction
Home advantage often aids the Romanians in achieving positive results in European competitions. FCSB primarily relies on solid and disciplined defensive play: the club has not conceded more than one goal in regular time in 16 of their last 20 home Europa League matches. Moreover, in nine of those games, they managed to keep a clean sheet.
Olympiacos faces challenges on the road in European competitions, particularly with their attacking play. The statistics are telling: in their last 15 away Europa League matches, the Greeks have only breached the opposition's defense more than once in 90 minutes in three games. Furthermore, in five of these encounters, the team left the field without scoring in regular time.
In my opinion, FCSB is quite capable of containing the Greek team's attack and conceding no more than one goal in this match. My prediction: Olympiacos individual total under 1.5
