Arsenal vs Olympiacos Prediction & Betting Tips - Europa League

Prediction published on 15/03/2021, 22:51  by Nella Wagah | Modified on 15/03/2021 at 22:52 in Europa League Predictions

Arsenal and Olympiakos have a history in European competitions. They are set to meet in Europa League for the fourth time in two seasons, this time Arsenal hosting after winning 3-1 away in Greece last week. A place in the quarters is up for grabs but it is Arsenal who will have the advantage having fought to a win in Piraeus. The Gunners will further be boosted by the fact that they’re coming from a 2-1 win over their arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur, which set them on a five-match unbeaten run. They hope to avoid a repeat of the home loss at the hands of Olympiakos last season, which saw them dumped out at this same stage. At the height of their win over Spurs, Arsenal have had to deal with the controversy of skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s disciplinary issues. Manager Mikel Arteta will hope this doesn’t spill over to the midweek game. The big improvement Arsenal will need is in defence, where they have no clean sheet in the last 10 matches. It is only on two occasions though, in the last 10 matches, that they’ve failed to score, and in the last five matches, they’ve scored two or more goals in four. As a result, four of their last five matches have produced over 2.5 goals. The Gunners go to this game unbeaten in nine Europa League matches – eight of them wins – but with just two clean sheets. Over the past four seasons, Arsenal have been among the best teams in Europa League even though they haven’t won it; they’ve lost just three of their last 23 matches in the competition. Heading to this game, the Gunners have four straight home wins in Europa League.

Olympiakos got their chance in the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group. A 5-4 aggregate win over PSV moved them to this stage and they will be keen on another shocker after eliminating Arsenal last season. They recovered from the first leg loss to Arsenal with a 3-1 win over Larissa in the Greek league this past weekend. That was the 24th straight match they managed to score in and they will be hoping they can get at least that score line against Arsenal. It will call for some improvement, as they are on three unbeaten away matches but with no clean sheet in the last six. Their away matches have been high scoring though, with five of their last six posting over 2.5 goals. In Europa League, Olympiakos have won just twice in the last nine matches, while away from home they have four losses in the last five away games. Adding this run to their five losses at the group stage in the Champions League leaves Olympiakos as a very poor competitor in Europe.