Olympiacos Piraeus vs Nantes prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2022-11-02 17:45.
Rooted to the bottom of UEFA Europa League (UEL) Group G regardless of their final matchday result, Olympiacos have had a campaign to forget after failing to muster a single group stage win (D2, L3). A lacklustre offensive display has foiled their European aspirations for the season, with their lowly tally of two goals scored being the competition’s joint-lowest total after five rounds.
A 2-0 win over domestic counterparts Lamia at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium over the weekend might have the home faithful feeling better than they otherwise would have, considering the Red-Whites have lost their last three home matches in the UEL proper by a 3-0 scoreline. Their record against French opposition doesn’t make for pretty reading though as they prepare for the visit of Nantes, having lost four of their last five encounters against teams from France (W1).
That will be music to the ears of Nantes who are still in the hunt for second place in the group, although they will need to win here along with Qarabağ simultaneously failing to beat group leaders Freiburg in Azerbaijan. Nantes will be praying for another miracle on that front, given they’re only in this position due to scoring a 95th minute winner against Qarabağ on matchday four!
The Canaries will leave the nest well aware of their shaky record on the road in Europe, having lost all of their last five away continental assignments, whilst failing to score away from home in this UEL campaign. Perhaps a game in Greece will offer Antoine Kombouaré’s men a chance to right their wrongs, after three consecutive victories against Greek opposition, including the 2-1 home win over Olympiacos on the opening matchday.
Players to watch: Olympiacos’ Youssef El-Arabi has scored their only goal from open play in this group stage, and could prove to be a handful late in the game since four of his last five goals have come after the 75th minute. Meanwhile, Nantes striker Ludovic Blas will look to make his presence felt early again, recording the match opener in seven of his last nine goalscoring outings.
Hot stat: All but one of Nantes’ last nine matches have seen the half-time result replicated at full-time.