By OkayGoal 
Olympiacos welcome Bayer Leverkusen to the Karaiskakis Stadium for the first leg of their Champions League play-off tonight.
The Greek side will be aiming for a repeat of the league phase encounter between the teams, when Olympaicos claimed a 2-0 win in Athens.
Olympiacos became the first-ever Greek team to win a UEFA club competition with Conference League success in 2023-24 and are now bidding to eclipse their best-ever Champions League campaign – a run to the semi-finals in 1998-99.
José Luis Mendilibar’s side are currently second in the Greek Super League, two points behind leader AEK Athens.
Olympiacos team news
The hosts face a nervous wait on Mehdi Taremi, who missed the weekend clash with Levadiakos. The Iranian forward is the club’s joint-leading scorer across all competitions this season, with 16 goals, alongside Ayoub El Kaabi.
Franciso Ortega also missed the weekend fixture and remains doubtful, while midfielder Theofanis Bakoulas is yet to debut after picking up a knee injury at former club Rio Ave, prior to his January move.
Olympiacos predicted lineup
Olympiacos predicted XI: Tzolakis; Rodinei, Retsos, Pirola, Onyemaechi; Mouzakitis, Hezze; A. Luiz, Chiquinho, G. Martins, El Kaabi.
What time is kick-off?
Olympiacos against Bayer Leverkusen will kick off at the Karaiskakis Stadium at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 18th February 2026.
How to watch Olympiacos vs Bayer Leverkusen
Olympiakos v Bayer Leverkusen will be shown live on TNT Sports 4 in the UK.
Read – Midfield Magicians: Michael Ballack – Little Kaiser
See more – Golazo Merchants: The silky skilled assassin, Dimitar Berbatov