Olympiakos vs Arsenal is live on March 11, 2021: How to watch this UEL round of 16 clash in 160+ countriees

March 11, 2021 By Ali M.

Topics: TV Schedules, Olympiakos, Arsenal, UEFA Europa League

The Gunners visit the Greek giants with the sole aim of enacting revenge after last season's "cruel" elimination. Here's a preview of Olympiakos vs Arsenal.

Olympiakos vs Arsenal – preview

Arsenal resume their quest to win the UEFA Europa League title, kicking off their round of 16 showdown with Olympiakos at 3 p.m. at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki. While the English giants head into this fixture on the back of a disappointing weekend result in Premier League, one thing that will be fueling the Gunners is their desire for revenge against the Greek giants.

The last time these two sides met was in last season's UEL round of 32, with the north London giants suffering heartbreak against Thrylos. Despite winning the first leg 1-0 on the road, Arteta's side hosted the Greek outfit at the Emirates Stadium for the return tie and lost 2-1, thus crashing out of the tournament on away goal. Speaking ahead of their rematch a year later, Arteta admitted that that was a cruel moment for his side while adding that they are out for revenge.

"It was a really tough one to swallow, the way it happened at the end was really cruel after everything we did in the two games to lose it the way we did it," the Spanish tactician said in his pre-match press conference.

"Emotionally it really drained us because it was a rollercoaster during the game and with what happened, it could have ended in a beautiful way, but it ended in a really harsh way for us. I think emotionally it took some time to get the team and some individuals lifted because it really hurt."

"Obviously, we have some feeling towards that team and we want to put it right."

Will they pull this off, however? This is the question on every Arsenal fan's mind and given the club's habit of gifting the opposition goals, supporters are understandably concerned for this fixture despite playing better football since Boxing Day. If it hadn't been for Arteta's error-prone side, the Gunners would have had a more comfortable route into the last 16.

Aubameyang and Co. needed a second half comeback to secure progression after a costly Ceballos error saw the north London giants go 2-1 down against the Portuguese outfit. Their Gabonese talisman scored in the dying minutes of normal time to book their tie with Olympiakos but Arteta's side are yet to iron out this worrying trend, with Granit Xhaka gifting Burnley an equalizer in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.

Arsenal's form has tanked as a result of that weekend stalemate, with the Emirates Stadium side picking up only three wins in their last nine matches. Not all of those slip-ups were due to the poor displays that plagued the earlier half of their campaign. Instead, a lack of clinicalness and the failure to kill off games have been their Achilles's heel.

As for Olympiakos, their form has been excellent in the build-up to this fixture. Pedro Martins' side won their most recent tie, beating Lamia 3-0 over the weekend. Furthermore, they are unbeaten in their last 10 outings at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki, winning nine of them. Will Aubameyang and Co. bring an end to that impressive run? Tune in to find out.

Team news

Olympiakos: The home side have a disappointing injury crisis at the back, with center-backs Ruben Semedo and Avraam Papadopoulos being ruled out for this fixture. Furthermore, Ousseynou Ba picked up a knock over the weekend while former Arsenal defender center-back is nursing a shoulder issue.

Arsenal: The visitors' only concern is Emile Smith Rowe, with the English starlet tipped to sit this one out as a precaution despite overcoming his hip issue. Willian has racked up four assists in his last three games but could face stiff competition from Nicolas Pepe who demonstrated his goalscoring threat in the 1-1 draw with Burnley. Cedric was left out of that game but should be back in the squad and possibly the lineup.

Key stats

Arsenal and Olympiakos have faced off 10 times before and are yet to play out a draw.
They are tied in the head-to-head record, with each side picking up five wins.
The Greek giants have won only twice in 11 matches against English clubs in European competitions. However, those two victories came against the Gunners.