Aston Villa vs Olympiakos: Betting Odds & Prediction
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An in-form Aston Villa side host Greek outfit Olympiakos in the Europa Conference League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Villa come into the game after a 2-2 home draw with Chelsea at the weekend. Kick-off is set for 8pm UK time at Villa Park.
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Aston Villa
The hosts have enjoyed a perfect run at Villa Park in Europe this season. Winning all six of their home encounters, Villa have scored 14 while conceding just three in front of their home fans heading into the clash on Thursday.
Unai Emery's men are also undefeated in their last four home fixtures in the Premier League, though the Midlanders will be disappointed with the nature of their draw with Chelsea at the weekend. Despite enjoying a 2-0 lead after 42 minutes, the hosts could only manage a 2-2 draw after a spirited fight back from the Londoners.
Nevertheless, Villa have scored in every Conference League home fixture so far, and two of these have seen them score on three or more occasions. Remarkably, they are yet to concede more than one goal in a home match in Europe. This is largely down to their watertight defence; they've averaged only 0.82 expected goals against (xGA) so far in the competition, conceding just 0.5 home goals in the process.
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Olympiakos
The visitors boast identical records in both home and away fixtures since entering the Conference League (W2, L1). Interestingly, José Luis Mendilibar's side have fared better in both attacking and defensive columns on the road in the competition.
An average of 2.33 goals scored in away fixtures compares to only 1.67 scored at home. They've only failed to score on one of these occasions. At the back, Olympiakos have conceded an impressive average of just 0.67 goals on their travels. This compares to an alarming two goals in home fixtures. They are yet to concede more than one goal in the Conference League.
Prediction
The Greek side impressed by ousting Fenerbache at the quarter-final stage, but come up against a Villa side who should be on another level to them across the two legs. Villa's home record justifies them entering as firm favourites (9/20), and they've had little trouble in finding the back of the net across all competitions.
Buoyed by talisman striker Ollie Watkins, OddsNow back Emery's men to continue their impressive scoring record on home turf this Thursday.