Mitchell returns to Europe and wants to put Olympiakos back in the bay

Olympiacos will play one of the most important games of the season on Thursday evening (October 6th, 10:00 p.m., COSMOTE SPORT 2, LIVE Sportish). The Reds and Whites meet Karabagh in Georgios Karaiskakis on Matchday 3 of the Europa League groups.

The game is very important for Piraeus. The gaps have narrowed after defeats against Nantes and Freiburg in the first two games.

The three points will bring Olympiakos back in the qualifier as they will catch up with the Azerbaijanis to three points while the French and German teams will face off at the Europa Park stadium so one of them will lose.

Let’s not forget that the first goes straight to the round of 16 of the Europa League, the second to the playoffs for the round of 16 against the third-placed Champions League, while the third is “relegated” to the playoffs of the round of 16 of the Europa Conference League.

Mitchell returns to Europe

Mitchell made the first move to put Olympiacos back on course for success in La Liga with a hat-trick against Atromitos last Sunday 2-0. Of course he wants that in Europe too. The Red-Whites have not yet won at European level this year, they want to break a negative record in Karaiskakis in the evening.

The Spain coach, whose second spell with Piraeus began just days ago, returns to European competitions.

Most recently he sat on the UEFA bench on February 25, 2016 in the match between Marseille and Bilbao for the round of 32 of the Europa League. The game ended 1-1, with the Basques qualifying after beating Mitchell’s side 1-0 in the first leg.

The trainer of the red and white team has the know-how and experience from European competitions. He had had great nights in the Champions League on the Olympiacos bench. Like the 3:0 against Anderlecht in Belgium (2/10/13), the 1:0 against Benfica (5/11/13), the 2:0 against Manchester United (25/02/14), the 3:2 against Atlético (16/09/14 ) and the 1:0 against Juventus (22.10.14).

With the same logic, he will face the game against Qarabag, as he himself said at the game’s press conference: “It’s going to be like Juventus or Atlético. It’s going to be a European night like we used to play with those teams.”

Mitchell’s three-point shot

With Wednesday’s training in Rentis, Olympiacos completed its preparation and announced its mission. It includes Marcelo, Ui Joe Huang and Alexandros Paschalakis, while Arabi, Ba, Retsos, Androutsos were absent, as well as Vatslik, who is now off the list due to injury.

Mitchell has his plans laid out and will go with two possible formations. One possibility is the defensive trio in front of Tzolakis, which will consist of Vrsalikos, Papastathopoulos and Cisse. Avila and Ryabchuk will move on the wings, with Embila and Inbom Huang in the middle. Biel will be in front of them, with Ui Jo Huang and Gary Rodriguez in the lead.

There is also the case of the four in defense. In this case, Tzolakis, Vrsaliko, Papastathopoulos, Cisse, Reabchuk, Inbom Hwang, Gary Rodriguez, Masouras, Biel and Ui Jo Huang can compete. Everything will become clear just before the cross on Georgios Karaiskakis, which is expected to be hot.

The mission of Olympiacos: Avila, Bouhalakis, Bowler, Cisse, Inbom Huang, Aboubakar Kamara, Kunde, Embila, Marcelo, Mazouras, Doi, Reambchuk, Papadoudis, Paschalakis, Biel, Gary Rodriguez, Papastathopoulos, Tzolakis, Ui Joe Huang, Valbuena, Vrousai, Vrsaliko.