Olympiacos vs Bayer Leverkusen: can Olympiacos push for a UEFA Champions League playoff spot?
In the seventh round of the UEFA Champions League, Olympiacos will face Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, 20 January, with kickoff at 21:00 CET, and I would like to offer a betting pick for this match.
Olympiacos vs Bayer Leverkusen: match facts and head-to-head
- Olympiacos have lost only once in their last ten matches.
- Bayer Leverkusen have been beaten in their last two matches.
- Bayer score goals in both halves in 46% of their matches this season.
- Olympiacos have kept a clean sheet in 44% of their matches this season, Bayer Leverkusen in 31%.
- Only 7% of Olympiacos’ defeats this season have been without scoring, compared to 12% for Bayer.
- Bayer have conceded goals in three consecutive matches.
- Bayer and Olympiacos have met twice in head-to-head history. Bayer won once 2–0, while Olympiacos claimed a 6–2 victory on the other occasion.
Olympiacos vs Bayer Leverkusen: match preview
A few days ago, Olympiacos were knocked out of the Greek Cup playoff after a 0–2 defeat to PAOK. However, their Super League campaign is going well. The team sit third in the table, just two points behind the leaders, with a game in hand. In the UEFA Champions League, Olympiacos drew against Pafos and PSV, and managed a 1–0 victory over Kairat Almaty. As a result, they have collected five points from six rounds and trail the playoff zone by two points with two matches remaining in the League Phase. Wins in these fixtures would give them strong chances of reaching the round of 16.
Bayer are currently positioned in the playoff zone. The team have nine points from six matches and occupy 20th place in the standings. The gap to 25th place is not particularly large—just three points—but with two rounds still to play, they have a realistic opportunity to hold on and reach the playoffs. This is especially relevant given that they still have matches against Villarreal and Olympiacos. However, Bayer began 2026 with two defeats and have now slipped to sixth place in the domestic table. After 17 rounds, the team have 29 points and trail the Champions League spots by four points.
Probable line-ups
- Olympiacos: Tzolakis; Rodinei, Biancone, Retsos, Ortega; Hezze, Mouzakitis; Martins, Chiquinho, Podence; Taremi
- Bayer Leverkusen: Blaswich; Quansah, Andrich, Bade; Arthur, Garcia, Fernandez, Grimaldo; Tillman, Poku; Schick
Prediction
Both teams need to take risks in order to stay in the playoff race, and victory is essential. I expect an entertaining contest and suggest a bet on over 2.5 total goals at odds of 1.79.
