The Piraeus giants are finally on the board in the Europa League after recording a difficult away draw with Qarabag FK, with the result effectively eliminating them from the competition but keeping the door ajar for a potential Conference League placement.

Olympiacos travelled away to play the Azerbaijani club as both sides kept the match goalless in the fourth matchday of the group stages on Friday morning (AEDT).

The draw takes the Greek champions off the zero mark, though they still find themselves six points behind their opponents (who are second), shifting the Red and Whites attention to securing third place in order to qualify for the Conference League.

Omonia gave it everything they had to escape from Manchester with a point but their efforts were dashed late to hand them an unfortunate 1-0 away loss, keeping them stuck in fourth with one point.

The match remained nil-all for over 90 minutes until midfielder Scott McTominay latched onto a ball in the box, smacking it in to steal all three points for the Red Devils (90+3′).

AEK Larnaca fell 1-2 at home to Fenerbahce in a tense battle to remain third in their group with three points.

The Turkish side took the lead in the 16th minute when a Crossfield ball met striker Joao Pedro who then smashed it into the goal, though the Cypriot outfit managed to draw level following a penalty from striker Ivan Trickovski which deflected in off the goalkeeper’s arm into the bottom right (52′).

Fenerbahce restored their advantage with their own penalty from marksman Michy Batshuayi, with the Belgian striking it into the top right (80′).

The Larnaca-based side had a moment of optimism when goalkeeper Kenan Piric dived successfully to his right to keep out forward Enner Valencia’s spot-kick (86′), but they couldn’t find an equaliser.

Apollon Limassol have sparked their Europa Conference League campaign to life after downing group leaders AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at home to take their tally to four points in third, only one point behind second.

The Cypriot champions pulled ahead in the 32nd minute, thanks to a corner header from centre half Valentin Sebastien Roger Roberge in what proved to be the winning goal of the game.

PAOK travelling to face Olympiacos in early season-defining clash

The pressure is on PAOK this weekend as they prepare for a huge battle with Olympiacos, with the Thessaloniki giants needing maximum points to keep in range of first after failing to win in their last three games.

The Piraeus “Thrilos” clash with the Double-headed eagle of the North at “Georgios Karaiskakis” ground in a blockbuster fixture on Tuesday morning (AEDT) to close out the 8th round of the Greek Super League.

The current champions will be in good/terrible spirits following their European failure/success midweek, giving them a much-needed boost to take into the weekend.

Panathinaikos comes up against Lamia at “Athanasios Diakos” Stadium on Monday morning with the major task of continuing their unbelievable start to the season, not dropping a single point as of yet.

AEK hosts Atromitos as they look to extend their own winning run, having won their last three games.

Panetolikos goes away to play Asteras Tripolis who will present quite a challenge, with the Arcadians proving last week their resilience after nearly grinding out a draw against the league leaders.

Giannina contests with OFI at home and each side will be desperate for victory after going three and four fixtures without a win respectively.

Aris will be searching for no less than maximum points in their Sunday morning match with Ionikos at “Kleanthis Vikelidis” Stadium, while the Nikaia side will do their absolute best to cause a major upset.

Volos goes up against Levadiakos at home in the opening game of the round with the goal of stretching their winning streak to four as they continue to impress in the early stages of the season.

Greek Super League Round 8 fixtures (AEST)

Volos-Levadiakos: 01.00, Sun 16 Oct

Aris-Ionikos: 04.30, Sun 16 Oct

AEK-Atromitos: 00.00, Mon 17 Oct

Giannina-OFI: 02.00, Mon 17 Oct

Lamia-Panathinaikos: 03.30, Mon 17 Oct

Asteras Tripolis-Panetolikos: 04.30, Mon 17 Oct

Olympiacos-PAOK: 04.00, Tue 18 Oct