Olympiacos Piraeus vs Pafos prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – League phase betting tips on match 2025-09-16 16:45.
[p]Cypriot champions Pafos do not have to travel far to make their UEFA Champions League (UCL) main draw debut as they visit Olympiacos.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Olympiacos have started their bid to defend their Greek Super League title in formidable fashion, winning their first three games of the campaign, with their most recent result the most emphatic of those three victories as they thrashed Panserraikos 5-0 on Saturday. JosĂ© Luis Mendilibar’s men have now won their last eight matches – their best run since the Spaniard took over in February 2024 – and have kept clean sheets in each of their last five encounters, something they had also not previously achieved during his tenure.[/p]
[p]Pafos are also targeting a defence of their own top-flight title, but their weekend did not go to plan as they lost 1-0 to Apollon Limassol – their first defeat of the season in all competitions (W5, D2). That result followed a UCL qualifying campaign which they negotiated expertly, knocking out Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kyiv and Red Star Belgrade whilst conceding just three goals in six games. They have the right to travel to Piraeus with some optimism given that they won all three of their away games during that run. [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]This will be Pafos’ first meeting with a Greek team in European competition, while Olympiacos have faced a Cypriot side on ten occasions in Europe including qualifying, winning five times (D2, L3). [/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Olympiacos have lost 16 of their last 20 UCL main draw matches (W2, D2). [/p]
[p]Olympiacos’ last ten goals in all competitions have all come after half-time. [/p]
[p]Only one of Pafos’ last 12 matches has featured more than two goals in regulation time.[/p]
[p]Pafos led at half-time in four of their five competitive wins this season.[/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Mehdi Taremi marked his Olympiacos debut at the weekend with two goals off the bench following his move from Inter Milan, but since the start of 2024, he has scored more times for Iran (13) than at club level (ten). Pafos’ Jajá has found the net at crucial times against Maccabi and Red Star already this season and has avoided defeat in 12 of his 13 goalscoring appearances for the club (W9, D3). [/p]
[p]Olympiacos will hope to have Gelson Martins available on Wednesday after he went off in the first half against Panserraikos, seemingly as a precaution, while goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis is suspended here following his red card in the UEFA Europa League against Bodø/Glimt in March. Pafos do not appear to have any notable players out through injury. [/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]Given Olympiacos’ tendency to score after the break, betting that they will score at least one second half goal and win seems astute.[/p]
[p][i]Author: Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]