Anderlecht – Olympiakos

Anderlecht will take on Olympiakos at Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in one of the most evenly matched first leg matches of the Europa League Round 32.

The hosts aren’t having their best season, sitting just 3rd in the league, though they are just 4 points behind the first place. They also finished second in a difficult Europa League group with Tottenham, Monaco and Qarabag, so while they are not an excellent side, they are far from being poor. Anderlecht has 3 wins and 1 draw in the last 4 matches, but they were only convincing in the last of those, a 3-0 victory over Zulte Waregem last weekend.

Olympiakos was inches away from qualifying to the Champions League round 16, but a 0-3 loss to Arsenal in the final round sent the Greek Champions into Europa League, despite the fact that they finished tied in points with the Gunners. Oly has stepped up to another level this season and are definitely one of the good teams in Europe. Their stats are amazing: Olympiakos has a record of 28 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses in all competitions!

One of those losses was last weekend, 0-1 on the road against AEK – the only team that managed to defeat them except for Arsenal and Bayern. However, Olympiakos was playing with 9 men when they conceded the late goal. Quote from Oly’s official website: “A non-existent penalty kick, its irregular taking and two ‘made up’ red cards led to the 1-0 result in the OAKA stadium.”.

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Lineups:

Anderlecht: Proto – Buttner, Mbodji, Nuytinck, Deschacht – Badji, Defour – Acheampong, Duricic, Praet – Sylla

Olympiakos: Roberto – Masuaku, Siovas, Botia, Elabdellaoui – Milivojevic, Kasami – Seba, Fortounis, Durmaz – Ideye.

I can’t see Anderlecht doing much damage to Olympiakos, not even at home. The Belgians are not anything special – they are a good side, but limited to an extent, unable to reach the superior level. Olympiakos on the other hand has been fantastic this year, putting together incredible runs of wins and showing their class at the top level, in the Champions League, where they probably deserved to go trough.

The Greeks can also fully focus on the Europa League, as they have the title on lock, while Anderlecht is involved in a grueling fight with Club Brugge and Gent for the title in Belgium.

My tip is Olympiakos +0,5 handicap. Odds of 1.50 are not high, but I actually think they are higher than they should be and just good enough to warrant a singles bet. I reckon it’s a better bet than Olympiakos DNB, because the draw is more likely than an away win.

No point in getting greedy, so I`m choosing safety here at a decent price. Back Olympyakos to cover the 0,5 handicap. Prediction: Anderlecht – Olympiakos 1-1.

Pick: Olympiakos +0,5
Odds: 1.50 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 4.50
Event date: 18 February