Olympiacos Eyes Fifth Straight Win Against Barcelona in EuroLeague

Olympiacos will face Barcelona at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday (29/1, 21:15) aiming for its fifth consecutive victory and 16th win overall in the EuroLeague. A win would allow the Greek team to match both Barcelona and Real Madrid in total victories, despite having one game fewer.

The Piraeus team enters the match on a strong run, winning seven of its last eight EuroLeague games, including back-to-back wins over Maccabi Tel Aviv at home and Anadolu Efes away. Olympiacos holds a 15-9 record, currently fifth in the standings before the 25th round tip-off. Barcelona sits third with a 16-8 record, following Real Madrid’s loss to Paris Saint-Germain.

Olympiacos recently celebrated Tyson Ward’s triple-double in the Greek Basketball League with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against Kolossos Rhodes. Meanwhile, Barcelona ended a ten-game winning streak in Spain’s Liga ACB after a loss to Tenerife on Sunday (25/1).

Canadian guard Cory Joseph joined Olympiacos in training on Monday but has not played since the NBA playoffs last year. Coach Giorgos Bartzokas included him in the 12-man roster for the clash with the Catalans. The team also welcomes back Nikola Milutinov and Tyrique Jones, while captain Kostas Papanikolaou, Frank Ntilikina, and injured Monte Morris remain sidelined.

In their previous encounter in the 15th round, Barcelona defeated Olympiacos 98-85 in Spain, with Will Clyburn scoring 28 points and setting personal bests in evaluation points (33) and three-pointers (7). Clyburn returns for the rematch after recovering from a biceps injury sustained in round 17.

Barcelona holds a slight advantage in steals, averaging 7.5 per game to Olympiacos’ 5.7, while Olympiacos leads narrowly in scoring, defence, rebounds, assists, and blocks. Barcelona maintains a marginally higher shooting percentage in three-pointers and free throws.