Matchday 7 of the group stage of the 2025/26 Champions League between Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece) and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany) will take place on 20 January at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. Olympiacos Piraeus vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Olympiacos Piraeus
In the previous round Olympiacos Piraeus, with José Luis Mendilibar as head coach, managed to overcome Kairat's resistance in an away match (1:0). The home side thereby ended a nine-match winless streak in regular time in the Champions League (five draws, four defeats). Moreover, across a ten-game run in this European competition the club kept a clean sheet in only its second match of the period after 90 minutes. In the group standings the club sits 29th with five points and is two points short of the play-off zone. In case of defeat the home side could lose its chances of reaching the play-off round. It is also worth noting that Olympiacos Piraeus has not beaten a German club in its last 13 meetings (one draw, 12 defeats).
- The club has failed to win in seven of its last eight home matches in the Champions League (three draws, four defeats).
- The club conceded no more than one goal in eight of its 11 previous home matches in this European competition.
- At least one of the opponents failed to score in eight of the last 11 home matches for the home side in the Champions League.
Potential Olympiacos Piraeus Lineup (4-5-1)
Konstantinos Tzolakis – Rodinei, Julian Biancon, Panagiotis Retsos, Francisco Ortega – Daniel Podence, Santiago Esse, Shikininhu, Christos Mouzakitis, Gelson Martins – Mehdi Taremi.
Defender Lorenzo Pirola and forward Roman Yaremchuk may miss the match due to injuries. Also note that the club's top scorer this season, forward Ayoub El Kaabi, is likely to be on the bench at best.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, with Kasper Hjulmand as head coach, failed to take three points in the last round after two successive wins, settling for a draw at home with Newcastle (2:2). Nevertheless, in the group stage of the current Champions League Bayer 04 Leverkusen has collected points in five of six matches (two wins, three draws). At the same time the club conceded at least two goals for the third time in the current Champions League campaign. In the table Leverkusen have nine points and occupy 20th place, trailing the top eight by just three points. With a victory the visitors could secure early qualification for the play-off round. Note that Bayer 04 Leverkusen opened the scoring in four of their last five Champions League encounters.
- The club has failed to win in eight of its last 11 away matches in the Champions League (three draws, five defeats).
- The team failed to score more than once in five of its seven previous away matches in this European competition.
- A maximum of three goals were scored in 15 of the last 19 away matches for the visitors in the Champions League.
Potential Bayer 04 Leverkusen Lineup (3-4-3)
Yanis Blaswich – Robert Andrich, Jarell Quansah, Loïc Badé – Álex Grimaldo, Ignacio Fernández, Aleix García, Arthur – Malik Tillman, Patrik Schick, Ernest Poku.
First-choice goalkeeper Mark Flekken, defender Edmond Tapsoba and midfielder Nathan Tella are injured. Participation of midfielder Eliesse Ben Seghir is also unlikely due to injury.
Referee
Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Matches – 17 (International matches, 2024/2025 - 2025/26);
Yellow/Red Cards Shown (Including Second Yellows) – 65;
Average Yellow/Red Cards Per Match – 3.6;
Red Cards Shown – 2;
Fouls Per Match – 21;
Penalties – 29%.
Olympiacos Piraeus vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Match Prediction
Olympiacos Piraeus does not typically play with an aggressive attacking emphasis, and even at home the club rarely treats supporters to flashy football. The recent meeting with Real Madrid, in which the home side scored three goals, was rather an exception: in seven home Champions League matches prior to that the home side did not score more than once. Moreover, on four occasions during that run the club finished a match without scoring at all.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen generally does not boast high scoring on the road: in 19 previous away Champions League games the visitors managed to score more than one goal only five times. Furthermore, in seven matches across that period Leverkusen left the field without scoring. On the other hand, in 12 matches during the same run the visitors conceded at most one goal, and in the last two meetings against Benfica and Manchester City they kept clean sheets.
Prediction: Under 3 goals
