Kostas Fortounis will miss Olympiacos’ match against Jagiellonia Białystok on Wednesday, a suspension that strips Imanol Alguacil of one of his most trusted creative outlets before the Europa League league-phase opener even begins. The midfielder’s ban carries over from the Champions League qualifying return leg against NEC, turning a single red card into a problem that reaches straight into Olympiacos’ first European night of the season.
That is why the fixture is drawing attention now. Olympiacos are set to face Jagiellonia Białystok in the Europa League league-phase opener, and the team sheet already has holes in it: Ayoub El Kaabi and Gustavo Sá are confirmed absentees, while Chiquinho and Lorenzo Pirola are still under evaluation for Wednesday. Pirola has been working back from a first-degree muscular strain, and Chiquinho picked up his issue around the OFI match.
Roman Yaremchuk’s return to the Europa League list softens one problem by giving Olympiacos a senior No. 9 option in El Kaabi’s place. It does not solve the bigger one. The side is being asked to begin its campaign with fewer players who operate between the lines, and that is a real concern in a match where Jagiellonia are likely to leave Olympiacos with long spells of possession.
That creates the awkward shape of the evening for Alguacil: the ball may be there, but the players most likely to turn it into incision may not be. If Chiquinho and Pirola are cleared, Olympiacos regain some balance. If they are not, Wednesday becomes less about control and more about whether possession can be turned into anything that actually hurts Jagiellonia.
