One step closer to… crazy dream! THE Olympic having dowry it 4-2 of “Villa Park”, hosts her Aston Villa (22:00, bwinSPORTFM, www.sportfm.gr, Cosmote Sports) in the crowded and hot “Georgios Karaiskakis” in the second semi-final between them for the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
A great game, the biggest until the next one for the Piraeus in their history, in which they have the opportunity to lock their qualification to the grand final of the “OPAP Arena” on May 29, where Fiorentina has already qualified (after yesterday’s qualification inside Bruges on the Club).
THE Olympic so a week ago he made a magical appearance, beating Aston Villa 4-2. He led 2-0 with his equal number of goals El Kaabi, saw the home side hit back and equalise, but continued to play aggressively and press high, looking for the goal. He found the third directly with the Moroccan’s penalty, while o Heh shaped the final score. In fact, the English had a missed penalty shortly before the final with him Luis!
A result that was duly celebrated by the red and white fans in Birmingham, Piraeus and Eleftherios Venizelos, but at the same time the Jose Luis Mendiliber he made sure to land everyone, characteristically telling them that he doesn’t want to hear anything about the final since there is also a rematch. And he said it right, since against him Olympiacos has a tremendous quality team that, if they are on their day, can do the damage.
“It is our obligation to be focused. In the previous phase we had lost and then scored 6 goals. This is a typical example and tomorrow we must be serious. A qualification is judged in 2 matches. Aston Villa will play hard to qualify, as we want to do. Both have chances”among other things, Mendiliber emphasized at the press conference that he did not fail to thank… Sevilla for expelling him: “I have been a coach for 30 years. I am a 20 year old professional and I know how to manage situations. I thank Sevilla for sacking me because otherwise this wouldn’t have happened. If I hadn’t left I wouldn’t be here. None of this would have happened if our players didn’t deserve it.”
In pure racing, o Mendiliber didn’t get a mission out for the first time. Data out of the match is the injured Ortegawhile extremely Richards is doubtful and Kinney looks like a favorite for the eleven. At the same time, the remaining ten in relation to the first match will be the same.
THE Aston Villa for its part, it comes from a second defeat in a row, since after the one against Olympiakos, it was also defeated by Brighton at “Apex” with 1-0. Poor performance, only made two finals and could have lost on a heavier score but escaped thanks to his excellent performance Olsen. As if the defeat was not enough, o Emery saw him too Rogers to leave with an injury problem, with the young winger a doubt. The same goes for Gianiolo, Tielemans and Dibu Martins, with the latter having the best chance to compete in the second leg.
“I don’t know if Martines will play in the match, he is with us. He had an injury, we will talk tomorrow and if he is absolutely ready he will play. Olsen is an excellent goalkeeper and person. I believe in him. It is not easy to replace the best goalkeeper in the world. He is always ready, with Brighton he played fantastically. With Olympiakos, he couldn’t do anything more. If he plays tomorrow he will have all our respect, as always and as we do with any player who is not considered in the starting lineup”Emery said.
He then praised Olympiakos for their performance in the first semi-final: “In the first match we made more mistakes than usual. We responded, but the opposition also responded with two more goals. We had important experience, tomorrow even if we concede goals, we have to have balance. We can be efficient, we have to be competitive like Olympiacos was at our home. Medilibar and Ibora know me well, as I know them. Mendiliber is an excellent coach in Spain, Olympiacos football is in line with his philosophy.”
POSSIBLE ELEVENS:
Olympiacos (Medilibar): Tzolakis – Rodinei, Retsos, Karmo, Kini – Ibora, Ese – Fortounis, Tsiquinio, Pontense – El Kaabi.
Aston Villa (Emery): Martins – Konsa, Carlos, Pau Torres, Digne – Luiz, McGinn, Cass, Bailly – Diaby, Watkins.
Referee: Felix Zweier (Germany)
Assistants: Stefan Loup (Germany), Marco Achmiller (Germany)
Fourth: Glen Nyberg (Sweden)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (Germany), Thiago Martins (Portugal)
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
