Greek Outlet Predicts Armando Gonzalez to Be Benched Again vs. Sparta

According to a report by Sportal, head coach Imanol Alguacil is expected to name an unchanged Olympiacos side to take on Sparta Praha in Matchday 3 of the UEFA Europa League. 

Alguacil knows that his team is on a 5-game winning streak and any change in the starting eleven could diminish their chances of registering yet another European victory. Three points from the upcoming Sparta Praha match will certainly put Olympiacos in firm control of their future in the Europa League, and will go a long way in securing direct qualification to the Round of 16 stages. 

The Basque coach is pleased with the training sessions, and is likely to go forward with a mix of the players starting in the 2-0 victory against Levadiakos and the 1-0 win over Marseille. If he follows this route, Armando 'Hormiga' Gonzalez's potential presence in the starting line-up for the Sparta match will be significantly affected.

Gonzalez last started in the 2-1 victory over Jagiellonia Bialystok, and it has been four games since then across all competitions for him to receive a call to the starting line-up. The manager has chosen Roman Yaremchuk mostly, and the Ukrainian has kept his place despite failing to score from numerous chances. A similar thing happened in the last match against Panetolikos, where new signing Marius Mouandilmadji started the match, delivering an inconsistent performance. 

While Gonzalez has often come off the bench, it has not been enough for him to make a sizeable impact. However, the last time he started, Olympiacos benefited from his first European goal to secure the three points from Jagiellonia. 

In another segment, Alguacil could give a start to Leon Bailey, who has been out of the picture for quite some time now. He was unfit when he came from Aston Villa in the summer, and the club has dealt with him carefully to not aggravate any injuries. During the training session on Tuesday, Bailey was able to compete without any difficulties, and this development makes him a strong candidate to drop either Gelson Martins or Jota Silva for a place in the line-up. 

Meanwhile, Kostas Fortounis is out of the match with a minor knock. Alguacl is set to keep the likes of Manolis Saliakas, Panagiotis Retsos, David Carmo and Nair Tiknizyan intact for the 4-man defence. Remo Freuler is predicted to pair up with Santiago Hezze in midfield, dropping Gustavo Puerta.