Olympiacos Piraeus vs West Ham prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-25 16:45.
After a fiery âderby of the eternal enemiesâ against Panathinaikos which was suspended due to crowd trouble and eventually abandoned, Olympiacos must dust themselves down and prepare to resume their pursuit of a first UEFA Europa League (UEL) group victory this term. The two UEL games Diego MartĂnezâs men have played so far (D1, L1) represent half of the matches that Olympiacos have failed to win this season (W9, D3, L1), so theyâll hope to replicate their domestic form on the European stage.
Doing so against West Ham United may be easier said than done though, with the Red and Whites winless in five straight home meetings with English opponents – the latest two of which were a pair of defeats in 2020/21 against Arsenal and Manchester City. Reversing that form may be problematic based on recent competition form too, as theyâve lost five straight UEL home outings in the competition proper, conceding almost three goals per match (14) in the process.
Much like their hosts, West Ham also had a testing weekend, albeit for very different reasons, as they were put in their place with a 4-1 loss against Aston Villa. Despite the Ironsâ failure to win domestically (D1, L1) since they set a new English-record 17 consecutive matches unbeaten in European competition (W16, D1) in round two, the reigning UEFA Europa Conference League champions now have a real opportunity to stamp their mark on the group.
There could be a little bit more history made here as the Hammers search for what would be a very first set of back-to-back away triumphs inside 90 minutes in their UEL history after winning 2-1 at Freiburg in the previous round. That said, West Ham have lost âto nilâ in regulation time in three of their four UEL away games following an away victory, a fate theyâll hope to avoid by extending their unbeaten record against Greek clubs (W1, D1).
Players to watch: On loan at Olympiacos from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Daniel Podence heads into this clash having scored four times in his last five appearances and with a goal contribution in his last two home encounters against the Hammers (G1, A1). Trying to outdo him will be Jarrod Bowen, the West Ham hero who bagged the matchwinner in last seasonâs European final and more recently recorded four goal contributions (G3, A1) across his last six outings for club and country.
Hot stat: Including the weekendâs abandoned derby, ten of Olympiacosâ last 11 matches saw scoring in both halves.