Olympiacos vs Aston Villa Prediction & Match Preview

Olympiacos vs Aston Villa Match Preview

Aston Villa have a mountain to climb after a 2-4 loss to Olympiakos in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League semi-final. The two teams lock horns once again in the rematch seven days later. Can the Lions pull off a memorable comeback in the port of Piraeus on Thursday evening?

• Both teams scored in six of Olympiakos’ last seven outings across competitions.
• We’ve seen at least three goals in each of Villa’s previous four Conference League games.
• Ollie Watkins tops Villa’s scoring charts in both Conference Leaguer and Premier League this season.

Aston Villa’s form has seen a massive slide in the crunch time of the season. Unai Emery’s men have managed two draws and one loss in the last three games across competitions. They fell 0-1 away at Brighton on Sunday afternoon. Luckily for their fans, Villa are still seven points clear off Tottenham in 5th place thanks to Spurs’ drop in form and recent defeats as well.

The story is completely opposite with Olympiakos. They are flying high with a run of seven wins and a draw in the previous eight outings across competitions. Jose Luis Mendilibar’s men are only 4th in the Greek Super League standings, though. They sit five points shy of leaders AEK Athens with a game in hand.

Recent Meetings

• Olympiakos and Aston Villa have not had an opportunity to cross each other’s paths in the past.
• Olympiakos pulled off an amazing 4-2 victory in an eventful first leg of this Conference League semi-final tie seven days ago in Birmingham.
• Ayoub El Kaabi made the difference with a hat-trick at Villa Park.

Olympiakos vs Aston Villa Prediction

We expect another open game packed with chances on Thursday evening in Piraeus. Villa have not been in a European semi-final since 1982. They will not give up a chance of making it to the final without putting up a genuine fight despite Greek’s hostile environment.

Olympiakos have suffered home losses in Europe this season. They fell 2-3 to Freiburg in the Europa League group stage as well as 1-4 to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the last-16 round of the Conference League. They play attractive football under Mendillibar. Knowing about Villa’s offensive potential, we have to take the Away win & Over 2.5 goals bet at the 2.75 odds.

The value is also huge with the 5.00 odds offered for Ollie Watkins to score anytime for the Lions. Watkins is having an incredible season for Villa in all competitions. He has 8 Conference League and 19 Premier League goals to his name.

We expect Villa to chase an early goal in search of redemption. If they get it, there is a high chance that Watkins signs it. We’ll take the sky-high 5.00 odds for such a scenario all day long.

Steffen Schmidt- May 7, 2024

Olympiacos vs Aston Villa Betting Tips

Aston Villa to win & Over 2.5 goals

OK

2.75 Odds

Ollie Watkins to score first goal

OK

5.00 Odds

Correct Score: Aston Villa 3-1

OK

13.00 Odds