Backa Topola and Olympiacos do battle on Thursday evening looking to bounce back from Europa League defeats suffered on matchday one.

Both teams had their moments against West Ham United and Freiburg respectively before losing to their stronger opponents, leaving them in a position where they can ill-afford a further setback at the TSC Arena.

Match preview

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On the back of last season's second-placed finish in the Serbian top flight, the priority of Backa Topola is to go one better and win the title for the first time in their history.

A 1-1 draw at Mladost Lucani last time out means that they have dropped two points adrift of Partizan Belgrade after eight matches, yet Zarko Lazetic's side have remained undefeated during that period.

Nevertheless, that will not take away the desire to make an impact in Europe, with Backa Topola having done that against Europa Conference League champions West Ham.

Petar Stanic's early goal in the second half put the visitors to the London Stadium in front two weeks ago, only for the Premier League giants to roar back in the final 24 minutes.

Still, FK TSC showed enough in that game to ensure that Olympiacos will not make the trip later this week assuming that they are guaranteed a top-three spot - and a minimum of Europa Conference League football - after Christmas.

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Having succumbed to a late Freiburg winner on matchday one, losing by a 3-2 scoreline, Diego Martinez will feel that Olympiacos are capable of upsetting either the German side or West Ham later in the group.

For now, though, focus must be on getting maximum points on the board against the minnows of the group as they bid to enjoy an extended run on the continent.

From a domestic standpoint, Olympiacos have been sensational this season, scoring 22 goals from just seven matches to establish a five-point lead at the top of the league.

A total of 11 strikes have come from their last three fixtures, with Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Daniel Podence netting twice during a 3-0 triumph at PAS Giannina on Sunday.

Team News

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Milos Pantovic, who was an unused substitute against West Ham, may have played his way into the Backa Topola XI having scored at the weekend.

However, much may depend on the formation used by Lazetic, the back five against West Ham having success until the final quarter.

Defender Josip Calusic is back in contention after missing the fixture in England and could get the nod over Mateja Djordjevic.

Barring any fitness issues, Martinez may select the same team that cruised to victory on the domestic front at the weekend.

Jackson Porozo, Georgios Masouras and Youssef El Arabi are all in contention for recalls in defence and the final third.

Backa Topola possible starting lineup:
Simic; Cvetkovic, Antonic, Stojic, Calusic, Petrovic; Radin, Kuveljic; Stanic; Jovanovic, Djakovac

Olympiacos possible starting lineup:
Paschalakis; Rodinei, Ndoj, Freire, Ortega; Alexandropoulos, Camara; Biel, Fortounis, Podence; El Kaabi

We say: Backa Topola 1-2 Olympiacos

With Backa Topola having showed their credentials against West Ham, this has all the makings of a closely-fought tussle. Nevertheless, the superior quality in the Olympiacos ranks may come to the fore, leading us to predict a narrow victory for the Greek giants.


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