Olympiacos begin their Europa League league-phase opener against Jagiellonia Białystok with a familiar problem for a European campaign: the squad is already stretched, and one of the players most capable of solving tight matches will not be available. Kostas Fortounis is suspended for Wednesday after the red card he received in the Champions League qualifying return leg against NEC, leaving Olympiacos even shorter of creative options at a moment when they could have used every available tool.
The timing matters because this is not just another league-stage fixture. It is the start of a new European phase, and Olympiacos enter it with multiple selection concerns that complicate both their build-up play and their attacking rhythm. Jagiellonia Białystok are expected to allow Olympiacos periods of possession, but possession only becomes an advantage when there is enough quality on the pitch to turn it into chances. Without Fortounis, that task becomes harder.
More absences to manage
The problems do not end with the suspension. Chiquinho picked up an issue around the OFI match and remains under evaluation by Wednesday, while Lorenzo Pirola, who recently recovered from a first-degree muscular strain, is also still being assessed. That leaves Olympiacos waiting on answers in areas that already look sensitive, especially with the club short of creative options and trying to settle a European opener at the same time.
There is also a broader selection picture to consider. Ayoub El Kaabi is not part of the available setup for this competition, and Roman Yaremchuk is listed as the senior No. 9 option. That makes the forward structure clearer, but not necessarily deeper, which is exactly the kind of trade-off that can matter in a match like this.
For Imanol Alguacil’s side, the challenge is simple to define even if it is harder to solve: manage the absences, keep control of the ball when Jagiellonia Białystok allow it, and avoid letting a thin attacking group become an excuse for a flat European start. Olympiacos still have enough structure to compete, but Wednesday is already asking them to do it with less margin for error.
