End of European adventure for Burnley
My apologies to supporters of Burnley; this is the third game in a row I’m going against your team but, so far at least, it has proved profitable. The Thursday/Sunday routine swings into action again with the second leg of the Europa League qualifier against Olympiakos upcoming, The Clarets down 3-1 from the first leg and needing some heroics to prevent a premature European exit.
Burnley
Sean Dyche’s men have suffered back-to-back league defeats and are so far without a win domestically, while their first leg loss in Greece leaves them staring at the strong likelihood of exiting the Europa League before it has even begun. To say it has been a poor start would be an understatement.
Unlike others, I wasn’t particularly impressed with their defence last season and thought they were fortunate to record the results they did. It’s fair to say the backline won’t be receiving as much praise this time around, at least not so far with 10 conceded in their last 3 not making for pretty reading.
They’ve left themselves with some work to do
A first European campaign in quite some time has seen Burnley claim fortunate wins over Aberdeen and Istanbul Basaksehir but they’ve left themselves with some work to do here if they’re to reach the Europa League first round proper.
An element of squad rotation was applied to the Fulham match and I expect the same on Thursday, especially with a home fixture against Manchester United next up in the ‘bread and butter’ of the league on Sunday.
By then I expect Burnley to be out of Europe; I just can’t see them pulling off the result they need against an experienced and wily opponent.
Olympiakos
The Greek giants kicked off their domestic season this weekend, opening with a 1-0 win over Levadiakos but in truth the match served as merely a warm-up to the game with Burnley on Thursday night.
Unlike their opponents who can rely on vast sums of TV money from the riches of the Premier League, the Europa League is where it’s at for Olympiakos in terms of income and so takes on an added significance for all involved with the club.
It’s unlikely their next league fixture against PAS Giannina will be too strenuous so they’ll be no need for manager, Pedro Martins to keep players fresh ahead of domestic matters at the weekend. This will mean starts for Iran international Karim Ansarifard who netted 17 last season, as well as Kostas Fortounis who scored two in the first leg of this tie.
Evidently, the names are not as well known but in terms of possessing the experience of major European ties, the Greeks are streets ahead of Burnley and having already demonstrated their capabilities, I fully expect them to advance through at the expense of the Lancashire club.
Match Tip
Olympiakos were much the better side in the first game, running out deserved winners and I just simply don’t see them surrendering their two goal advantage. They’re more likely to add to it and if anything will have strong intentions of grabbing an early goal in order to put the tie beyond Burnley once and for all.
