Olympiacos FC v West Ham United
UEFA Europa League Group A, Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Thursday 26 October 2023, 7.45pm EEST (5.45pm BST)
West Ham United return to European action on Thursday with a third Group A fixture of the UEFA Europa League campaign.
With a 100 per cent record so far in the competition this season, David Moyes’ Irons next make the trip to Piraeus to face Super League Greece 1 side Olympiacos.
The highly successful Greek club sit third in Group A, with a draw and a loss from their opening two group stages matches so far.
However, The Thrylos are currently top of the Greek top flight and are unbeaten in the league so far this season.
Tickets…
Supporters are advised that West Ham United’s allocation of 1,600 tickets for Thursday’s match against Olympiacos has sold out.
Travel…
A host of airlines provide the flight to Athens, with easyJet, Ryanair, Aegean, Wizz, Sky Express and British Airways all scheduling services for the three-and-a-half hour trip on Wednesday 25 October and returns on Friday 27 October.
West Ham United will provide travelling supporters with tickets with information about how to travel to and from Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
How To Follow…
Thursday's tie will be broadcast live in the UK by TNT Sports. More information on how to watch can be found by clicking here.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social channels, while audio commentary is available on BBC London in the UK, and on our website and app worldwide.
Team News…
Manager David Moyes will be optimistic of having close to a full-strength squad to select from for Thursday’s European outing.
Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell remain the only absentees for the Irons, with the duo missing in recent matches due to a groin injury and a hamstring problem, respectively. While neither was involved in the defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, both have returned to training.
Olympiacos, meanwhile, could be without centre-back Nicolás Freire due to injury, while former Nottingham Forest defender Omar Richards has also sustained a leg injury.
Doron Leidner is out with a cruciate ligament tear.
Opposition…
In taking on Olympiacos, West Ham United will be facing the most-successful club in Greek football history on Thursday.
Crowned champions a record 47 times, Cup winners on 28 occasions and domestic double winners on a record 18 occasions, the club is based in Piraeus, which is the world-famous port city within the Greater Athens area.
Olympiacos became the first Greek club to play in European competition when they competed in the 1959/60 European Cup, losing 5-3 on aggregate to AC Milan in the preliminary round.
Olympiacos was also the first Greek club to advance to the next round of any European competition, eliminating Zagłębie Sosnowiec to reach the second round of the 1963/64 European Cup Winners' Cup.
The team’s best European campaign came in the 1998/99 campaign, reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals where they lost out on a semi-final spot to Juventus in the last minutes of the tie.
Olympiacos have played in the UEFA Europa League in the last six seasons, often becoming involved in the competition due to dropping down from the Champions League.
Currently sat top of the Super League Greece 1 table, and unbeaten in their opening seven league matches, manager Diego Martínez and his squad will be hoping for silverware success on the eve of the club’s centenary in the 2024/25 season.
Previous Meetings…
West Ham United first visited Piraeus on 1 December 1965, when Ron Greenwood’s European Cup Winners’ Cup holders defended a 4-0 second-round first-leg lead with a 2-2 draw in Greece.
In a game refereed by future 1966 FIFA World Cup final linesman Tofiq Bahramov, Martin Peters scored twice for West Ham, with an own-goal by Eddie Bovington and an 80th minute penalty by Kostas Polychroniou giving the home fans a reason to cheer.
Our only other visit to Greece came after another cup final appearance, this time the 2006 FA Cup final, in August 2006, when Alan Pardew’s side played two games in the space of three days in the northern city of Thessaloniki.
The first ended in a 2-2 draw with Aris and the second in a 2-1 defeat by their local rivals PAOK.
Incidentally, we then welcomed Olympiacos to the Boleyn Ground a week later for a 1-1 draw, in which Marlon Harewood hit the target.
Match Officials…
Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)
Assistant referees: Haralds Gudermanis (Latvia) and Aleksejs Spasennikovs (Latvia)
Fourth official: Aleksandrs Golubevs (Latvia)
VAR: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)
Assistant VAR: Kristaps Ratnieks (Latvia)
Latvia’s Andris Treimanis will take charge of Thursday's game.
The 38-year-old has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2011, meaning that alongside domestic Latvian games, he also possesses a wealth of experience refereeing European club fixtures and full internationals.
This term he has taken charge of three UEFA fixtures – a UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier between Hearts and PAOK, a Champions League qualifier between Slovan Bratislava and Maccabi Haifa, and Roma’s Europa League group stage victory at Sheriff Tiraspol.
In the latter game he issued five yellow cards and one red – his only dismissal in European competition so far this term.
He last took charge of an English team’s game in October 2020, when Manchester City defeated Porto 3-1 in a Champions League group fixture.
On Thursday he will be assisted by fellow Latvians Haralds Gudermanis and Aleksejs Spasennikovs. The VAR will be Dutchman Dennis Higler.
