OFI Crete vs. Bayer Leverkusen - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to extremity their three-match losing run, OFI Crete invited Bayer Leverkusen to the Pankritio Stadium for Thursday's Europa League matchday-three action.

That ambition, though, volition beryllium hard to realise fixed the Bundesliga outfit's unblemished commencement successful the league signifier and ongoing seven-match unbeaten streak, highlighting the uphill situation facing Christos Kontis's men.

Match preview

When OFI defeated Hoffenheim 2-0 successful mid-September, fans of the Greek outfit could person been forgiven for celebrating the hold of their winning streak crossed each competitions to 4 matches.

That effect besides extended the team's unbeaten tally to 5 matches, earlier a 2-2 gully with Asteras successful Crete followed up of the hiatus.

The intermission has unluckily done much harm than bully for Kontis and his players, who person suffered 3 defeats since the planetary break, losing 3-0 to AEK Athens aft Aitor Cantalapiedra was sent disconnected with his broadside trailing 1-0, earlier falling 2-1 and 4-3 to Rennes and Kalamata successful Europe and the home apical flight.

Kontis is nary alien to specified a run, having seen his players endure 3 consecutive defeats successful May aft they besides endured a series of 1 triumph successful 5 matches betwixt February and March past season.

Nonetheless, the 18th-placed broadside successful the Europa League volition constituent to their erstwhile triumph implicit Bundesliga opposition, arsenic good arsenic a six-match unbeaten tally successful beforehand of their supporters, oregon 7 including past season's occurrence implicit Volos, arsenic impervious that they tin clasp their ain against anyone successful their ain backyard.

Supporters of a Bayer persuasion volition constituent to an evident caveat: they are successful importantly amended signifier than Hoffenheim, who person mislaid six of their 9 matches this season.

In contrast, Carles Martinez's men person secured 7 victories from 9 competitory matches since August, including 2 wins successful Europe without conceding.

Five of those victories person travel consecutively for Die Werkself, who person demonstrated their expertise crossed assorted crippled states to determination wrong 1 triumph of signaling six successful a row.

They person claimed regular 2-0 wins implicit Celje and RB Leipzig, held their nervus aft Mainz 05 recovered from 2-0 down to gully level earlier an eventual 4-3 success, dispatched Lech Poznan and overturned a 1-0 shortage against Freiburg astatine the play to triumph 2-1.

Now, the German top-flight club's adjacent duty is to go the archetypal broadside since Aris successful May to bushed OFI successful Heraklion.

Given that they are 1 of 3 sides yet to concede successful the league phase, second-placed Bayer look to person the antiaircraft instauration required to marque it 3 wins from 3 successful Europe's second-tier nine competition.

OFI Crete Europa League form:

OFI Crete signifier (all competitions):

Bayer Leverkusen Europa League form:

Bayer Leverkusen signifier (all competitions):

Team News

Nikolaos Marinakis is sidelined with a groin injury, though the defender was not portion of the radical anyway, portion Aaron Leya Iseka (groin) and Christos Sielis (hamstring) are besides injured and ineligible.

Fresh from scoring doubly and providing an assistance successful past weekend's 4-3 nonaccomplishment astatine Kalamata, Thiago Nuss volition people different beardown showing to sphere OFI's extended unbeaten location record.

The guardant should not deficiency support, with Kenan Kodro besides connected 3 league goals and representing different imaginable match-winning menace for the Greek outfit.

Bayer person netted six goals successful Europe's 2nd tier, but the scoring load has mostly been shared, with Patrik Schick the lone subordinate to onslaught much than once.

The Czech international's instrumentality is nary surprise, fixed that helium has scored six Bundesliga goals, 4 much than Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane, who person netted doubly apiece successful the league.

Kofane, however, is absent with a musculus complaint, arsenic are Martin Terrier (hamstring), Guela Doue (muscle) and Eliesse Ben Seghir (muscle), portion Montrell Culbreath (foot) is touch-and-go for Thursday's match; Jonas Hofmann, Victor Boniface, Tim Oermann and Kennet Eichhorn are each ineligible and unavailable.

OFI Crete imaginable starting lineup:

Christogeorges; Nikolaou, Poungouras, Krizmanic; Dickmann, Androutsos, Bouchalakis, Athanasiou; Fountas, Kodro, Nuss

Bayer Leverkusen imaginable starting lineup:

Flekken; Quansah, Tapsoba, Medina, Gutierrez; Andrich, Garcia; Diaby, Maza, Moreira; Schick

We say: OFI Crete 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

OFI person proved hard to bushed successful Heraklion, but their 3 consecutive defeats since the planetary interruption suggest that assurance has been damaged astatine an unfortunate time.

Leverkusen's unblemished European grounds and back-to-back league-phase cleanable sheets constituent towards different controlled triumph for Martinez's in-form side.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.