Olympiakos vs Aston Villa: Betting Odds & Prediction
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Aston Villa face an uphill battle in their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg as they travel to Olympiakos on Thursday evening.
The Greek side boast a 4-2 aggregate lead after stunning Villa in the Midlands last week. Kick-off is set for 8pm UK time at the Karaiskakis Stadium.
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Olympiakos
The hosts raised eyebrows with a stunning 4-2 win at Villa Park last Thursday, buoyed by an Ayoud El Kaabi hat-trick. The victory made it three out of four on the road in the competition for José Luis Mendilibar's men, who have had little trouble in finding the back of the net.
The four goals took their total tally to 16 in the Conference League, eleven of which have been scored in away fixtures. Olympiakos have also failed to score in just one away outing since dropping down to the Conference League following a third-placed finish in the Europa League group stage.
Mendilibar's side have also tightened up in defensive quarters. Despite conceding a worrying average of two goals per home fixture, Olympiakos have averaged just one goal shipped on their travels. They have kept only one away clean sheet in the Conference League, an encouraging sign for the visitors as they look to overturn the first leg deficit.
What'll happen in Piraeus? 💫#UECL pic.twitter.com/WuRLMwppfz
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) May 6, 2024
Aston Villa
Unai Emery's side have enjoyed a remarkable campaign, finding themselves third in the Premier League as the season's end draws closer. Villa have balanced domestic and European commitments to continue firing on all fronts throughout the season, but recent results may suggest they are beginning to run out of steam.
The Olympiakos loss is sandwiched between two disappointing results in domestic fixtures; first, they surrendered a two goal lead to eventually draw 2-2 with Chelsea, before conceding a late goal to lose 1-0 at Brighton at the weekend.
While they're more than capable of turning the tie around, their away form in Europe has been far from convincing. Two of their three Conference League losses have been on the road, and only two of their six away outings have ended in a clean sheet.
Their average of 2.17 goals scored is a healthy one though, and Villa will need striker Ollie Watkins to be at his clinical best if they are to feature in the final later this month.
Prediction
Despite a worrying showing in the first leg, OddsNow still back Villa to have enough to win in Greece due to their added quality up top. Whether it will be enough to see them progress remains to be seen, however.