Olympiacos vs Aston Villa: Preview, predictions and lineups

Aston Villa have a mountain to climb this Thursday when they travel to Olympiacos in the second leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final.

The 1982 European champions find themselves 4-2 down from the first leg at Villa Park, with a Ayoub El Kaabi hat-trick guiding the Greek side to victory. Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby did get on the scoresheet, but a late penalty miss from Douglas Luiz means the odds are stacked against Unai Emery's side for the second leg.

Villa also stumbled in their pursuit of Champions League qualification last Sunday, losing 1-0 away at Brighton. Fortunately for the Villans, Tottenham also tasted defeat at Liverpool, meaning they now need just three more points from their final two matches to guarantee a top-four place.

Olympiacos are still fighting for the Greek Super League title themselves and have enjoyed a week's rest ahead of Villa's visit.

Here's guide to Olympiacos vs Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League.

Olympiacos

Aston Villa

Aston Villa 2-4 Olympiacos — 02/05/24

Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa — 05/05/24

Olympiacos 4-1 Lamia — 28/04/24

Aston Villa 2-4 Olympiacos — 02/05/24

Aris Thessaloniki 1-1 Olympiacos — 24/04/24

Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea — 27/04/24

Olympiacos 2-1 PAOK — 21/04/24

Aston Villa 3-1 Bournemouth — 21/04/24

Fenerbahce 1-0 Olympiacos (2-3 on pens) — 18/04/24

Lille 2-1 Aston Villa (3-4 on pens) — 18/04/24

Country

TV channel / live stream

United Kingdom

TNT Sports 1, discovery+, discovery+ App

United States

Paramount+, ViX

Canada

DAZN

Olympiacos are without a number of players for Aston Villa's visit, including former Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic. Doron Leidner and Andreas-Richardos Ntoi are also missing for the Greek side, while Ruben Vezo, Nelson Abbey and winger Gelson