Prediction and odds for the game: Arsenal (1/2) v Olympiakos (5/1)
We are backing the home win
When: Thursday 27th February 2020, Kick-off 8 PM
Where: The Emirates Stadium
Arsenal will be looking to book their place in the last-16 of the Europa League, as they welcome Olympiakos to the Emirates Stadium for a second leg tie of the last 32 of European football’s secondary competition.
Arsenal
The Gunners head into this game on the back of a three-game winning run in all competitions, including winning the first leg of this tie 1-0 in Greece. Last time out, Arsenal edged out Everton in a highly entertaining 3-2 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
The win over the Merseysider’s means that Mikel Arteta’s team are unbeaten in their last ten matches in all competitions.
When it comes to the Europa League, the team from north London have a slightly patchy recent record in the competition. In fact, the first leg win ended a run of three games without a victory. The first leg went against the trend of high-scoring games for Arsenal in the Europa League, as eight of their last ten games have produced over 2.5 goals.
The Gunners have an impressive home record, as they have won eight of their last ten home games in the Europa League. However, they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt in their last home game in the competition.
Olympiakos
The Greek lead leaders will still believe they have a chance of progressing to the last-16 of the Europa League. The first leg defeat is their only loss in their last 20 competitive matches. Ironically, the last team to defeat the visitors were Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham in the Champions League group stages.
Olympiakos may be the dominant force in the Greek Super League, but they have struggled for results of late in the Europa League. Pedro Martins’ team have now failed to win in three games in the competition dating back to last seasons knockout stages, as they, of course, dropped down from the Champions League this season.
Olympiakos’ recent away record in the Europa League is a poor one, as they have won just one of their last five matches in the competition, suffering three defeats in the process. Their recent games in the Europa League have been low-scoring, with under 2.5 goals scored in four of their last five matches on their travels.
Conclusion
We fancy Arsenal in this clash. The Gunners were in fine attacking form last time out and that is why we are backing the home win. We are also taking a punt on young Gunners striker Eddie Nketiah scoring anytime, as the youngster looked sharp against Everton.
Verdict: We are backing Arsenal to win at odds of 1/2 and/or Eddie Nketiah to be an anytime goalscorer at odds of 11/8. (All odds are taken from Bet365)
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