Aston Villa take on Greek giants Olympiacos in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
The first leg at Villa Park promises to be a great battle between two sides who are performing well in their respective leagues.
Take a closer look at Olympiacos, their key players and their head coach below...
Scenesetter
Olympiacos is the most successful club in the history of Greek football with a record 47 league titles to their name.
Their domestic dominance has continued in recent times and has seen them win three of the past four championships, while they’re currently third in the Super League 1 play-off table as they hunt for more silverware.
However, success on the European stage has proved elusive since the club’s formation in 1925, with a run to the Champions League quarter-finals in 1999 remaining their best performance on the continent until the current campaign.
Three different head coaches have taken charge of a European fixture for the club this season, with current incumbent José Luis Mendilibar overseeing their Europa Conference League run after they dropped out of the Europa League.
To reach this stage, Olympiacos beat Ferencváros and Maccabi Tel Aviv before overcoming Fenerbahçe in an epic quarter-final that was decided by a penalty shootout.
Three to watch
Ayoub El Kaabi
Olympiacos’ No9 is enjoying the most productive season of his career.
The 30-year-old, who has played for teams in China, Turkey, Qatar and his native Morocco, has scored 27 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions for the Greek side.
El Kaabi hit the ground running after joining from Al Sadd in August and has scored consistently throughout the campaign, including five in six games in the Europa Conference League.
The striker, who has 44 caps for his country, scored in both legs of knockout ties against Ferencváros and Maccabi Tel Aviv to help Olympiacos reach the last four.
Daniel Podence
Podence is a familiar face to Premier League fans after playing the past two and a half seasons for Wolves, whom he left on loan in September.
The 28-year-old spent 18 months at Olympiacos before his move to the Midlands and he’s picked up where he left off for the Greek giants.
Capable of creating and scoring from either flank, Podence has netted 14 times and registered 10 assists across the campaign.
The Portuguese, who made 105 appearances for Wolves, scored and assisted from a role on the left wing last time out but he’s mainly been deployed on the right this season.
Santiago Hezze
Hezze is the shield that sits in front of Olympiacos’ backline, breaking up play and starting attacks for his team.
Utilised as a defensive midfielder in each of the three formations preferred by head coach José Luis Mendilibar, the 22-year-old has impressed in his first season at the club.
His high work rate and quality distribution have endeared him to the Olympiacos fans, while his defensive discipline has also stood out.
Argentine Hezze, who joined from Huracán in the summer, has been a key player in the Conference League, playing every minute of their six matches thus far.
Manager Focus
José Luis Mendilibar took the reins at Olympiacos in February and immediately started to improve their fortunes.
The 63-year-old has won 12 of his 17 games since becoming the club’s third head coach of the season following short spells in charge for predecessors Diego Martínez and Carlos Carvalhal.
Sevilla were the Spaniard’s employers at the start of the season, but they parted company with him in October after a slow start to their La Liga campaign.
During his seven-month spell in Seville, Mendilibar celebrated the crowning achievement of his coaching career when he won the Europa League.
Olympiacos is Mendilibar’s first head coach post outside of Spain, where he’s taken charge of Alves, Valladolid, Athletic Bilbao and Levante among other clubs.
Road to the Semis
Just like Aston Villa, Olympiacos progressed to the last four of the competition via a penalty shootout in their quarter-final against Fenerbahçe.
The Greek side had been cruising at 3-0 up in the first leg before conceding twice to leave the tie finely poised heading into the return fixture in Turkey.
And Fenerbahçe levelled the aggregate score to send the match to extra-time before spot kicks were needed to separate the teams.
Olympiacos goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis was their hero in the shootout, saving three penalties to win a place in the semi-finals.
Earlier in the competition, Ferencváros (2-0 on aggregate) were beaten in the play-off round before Maccabi Tel Aviv played their part in a crazy contest that ended 7-5 on aggregate after Olympiacos won the second leg 6-1 after extra-time.
