Analysis: Olympiacos - Arsenal

The local Olympiacos will meet Arsenal London at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium in Piraeus in a “to be or not to be” match. Will the guests have enough motivation to defeat the Greeks

Position in the table and team condition:
Arsenal is confident in an advance to the next stage of the tournament and from the first place. Marseille with 7 points is the second team in group F, Olympiacos is the next team  in the standings with 6 points. Borussia Dortmund (with 7 points) which has to win against Marseille with the score 4-0, and expect a draw in the match between Olympiacos and Arsenal, also has theoretical chances for an advance.

Potential and team situation:
“Thrylos” will have a historical chance for an advance to the Champions League group stage thanks to the unexpected win against Marseille (0:1) at Velodrome Stadium. Olympiacos, which had been the champion of Greece for 38 times, has to win against Arsenal and hope that Marseille won’t defeat Borussia, which is probable. The main ally of Olympiacos can be … Arsene Wenger himself. The French coach of “The Gunners” will most likely not release his first eleven, especially taking into consideration the fact that some of the players can miss the following matches in case of receiving yellow cards. Olympiacos will also set about to the match in a weakened lineup. Ariel Ibagaza was injured on Saturday, and Jean Makouna (knee), Ljubomir Fejs (knee), and David Fustera won’t play either. The situation with Francisco Yeste’s (leg) appearance is also unclear. Arsenal is in for a difficult battle on Saturday at Emirates against Everton and that is why it is hardly believed that on Tuesday the team will play with the strongest lineup. The injured Rosicky, Wilshere, Sagna, Gibbs and Jenkinson won’t be able to play, and moreover Diaby whose contusion has continued joined them.

History of meetings:
Olympiacos has met with Arsenal 3 times in its history. In the season of 2009/2010 we were witnesses of “The Gunners’” win in London with the score 2:0 and the triumph of “Thrylos” Piraeus with the score 1:0. This Champions League season Arsenal won at home with the score 2:1.

Tips and grounds:
The following factors were the key ones in our forecast for the win of Olympiacos. First of all this meeting has no importance for “The Gunners”. €800 thousand for a win in a match of the Champions League group stage is the only argument for Arsenal. Motivation, ambition, an own stadium advantage and also the fact that Arsenal will play with a reserve lineup disposes us to bet on the Greeks’ win, even despite several contusions in their team.

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