The second-leg Champions League 2025/26 play-off tie between Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany) and Olympiacos (Greece) will take place on 24 February at the BayArena in Leverkusen. The score in the first leg was 2:0 in favour of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Olympiacos: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
A Patrick Schick brace, scored in the space of three minutes, earned Bayer 04 Leverkusen victory in the first leg (2:0). That defeat to Olympiacos in the league phase remains the only one for Kasper Hjulmand's men in their last six Champions League matches (4 wins, 1 draw). Moreover, it was the fourth time in that run that the hosts kept a clean sheet. At the other end, Bayer 04 Leverkusen have looked excellent too: the club scored at least twice in five of their previous seven games in this competition. To reach the round of 16, the Germans can even lose the return leg by a single goal.
- At least one team failed to score in five of Bayer 04 Leverkusen's last six games in this European competition.
- At home, the team have not won in four of their previous five Champions League matches (2 draws, 2 defeats).
- The hosts opened the scoring in seven of their last nine home Champions League matches.
Potential Bayer 04 Leverkusen Lineup (3-4-3)
Janis Blaswich – Robert Andrich, Jarell Quansah, Edmond Tapsoba – Alejandro Grimaldo, Ibrahim Maza, Aleix Garcia, Exequiel Palacios – Lucas Vazquez, Patrick Schick, Ernest Poku.
Goalkeeper Mark Flekken, midfielders Eliesse Ben-Seghir and Nathan Tella, as well as defender Loic Bade, are injured.
Olympiacos
The defeat in the previous match ended a three-game winning run for the Greeks in the Champions League. What is more, for the first time in their last seven matches in this tournament, the team failed to find the net. These untimely finishing problems have severely complicated Olympiacos' chances of reaching the round of 16, a stage the club have not reached since the 2013/14 season. In the second leg, the Greeks need to beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen by a margin of at least three goals, and the team's last big Champions League win came back in 2019. If Olympiacos win by exactly two goals, extra time will be required.
- No more than three goals were scored in five of the club's previous six Champions League matches.
- Away from home in this competition, the team have avoided defeat in five of their last seven matches (3 wins, 2 draws).
- The Greeks scored in seven of their previous eight away Champions League games.
Potential Olympiacos Lineup (4-5-1)
Konstantinos Tzolakis – Rodinei, Julian Biancone, Panagiotis Retsos, Bruno Onyemaechi – Mehdi Taremi, Santiago Esse, Chiquinho, Christos Mouzakitis, Gelson Martins – Ayoub El Kaabi.
Referee
Michael Oliver (England)
Matches – 11 (international fixtures, 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 47;
Yellow cards per match – 4.3;
Red cards shown – 1;
Fouls per match – 24;
Penalties – 0%.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Olympiacos: Match Prediction
In the second leg, the hosts' task is to protect the advantage they built up. Given the Germans' results and form, that should not be a problem. At home, Bayer 04 Leverkusen have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10 Champions League matches (5 wins, 3 draws), with the losses coming against European heavyweights Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. Olympiacos have away wins in the Champions League 2025/26, but Jose Luis Mendilibar's men achieved them against opponents who had already been eliminated from the competition. At the same time, Olympiacos lost without a chance away to two representatives of the top five leagues.
The Greeks will try to turn the tie around and will push forward. But the club's defence, which is not known for reliability, will be even more vulnerable in that scenario. In four away matches in the current edition of the tournament, Olympiacos conceded nine goals. Bayer 04 Leverkusen have had no issues converting chances: the Germans scored at least twice in five of their last seven Champions League games. And in the first leg, the club could have scored more than two goals.
Prediction: Bayer 04 Leverkusen double chance + Over 1.5 goals