Olyimpiacos vs Maccabi Haifa

Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium forms the backdrop as Olympiacos and Maccabi Haifa go head-to-head in the return leg of their evenly-poised Champions League second qualifying round tie.

Despite holding a slender 1-0 lead until deep inside the stoppage time, Olympiacos had to settle for an underwhelming 1-1 draw in their first leg in Israel. The Greek champions have heavily struggled with inconsistent performances this summer, picking up just two wins from eight pre-season fixtures (D2, L4). Furthermore, they have racked up only one triumph from their last four competitive home outings (D2, L1 – 90mins only), casting doubt on their hopes of reaching the Champions League third qualifying round for the fourth season on the trot. Pedro Martins’ men have also lost two of their last three European home matches (W1), conceding 2+ goals in each defeat. There’s no silver lining here for Olympiacos fans, as they’ve only won one of their seven previous European meetings with Israeli opposition (D3, L3).

As for Maccabi Haifa, the abovementioned first-leg draw made it five matches without winning for the Israeli champions (D2, L3 – 90mins only), including friendlies. Lapses of concentration on hostile turf have seen Haifa register just two victories across their last six competitive travels (D2, L2), with each game won/lost in that sequence witnessing the winner keep a clean sheet. Impressively, though, only once in the 21st century have Haifa failed to negotiate their Champions League second qualifying round tie, suggesting they could still make this contest scary for the Greek juggernauts.