Dinamo Zagreb v Olympiakos
Tuesday 20th October – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Football – Europe – Champions League
Dinamo and Olympiakos were expected to be also-rans in a group that included Bayern Munich and Arsenal, and whilst they have both been comfortably brushed aside by the German champions, the two lesser-fancied teams have recorded a win each over Arsenal. It means this game will be even more important as three points for either team – coupled with a Bayern win in London – would mean a six-point advantage over Arsene Wenger’s men at the halfway stage.
Having recorded arguably their best ever result in the 2-1 win over Arsenal on match day one, Dinamo were brought back down to earth with a bang when travelling to Munich – a game which they lost 5-0. Four of those goals came in a disastrous 15 minute spell in the first half, making the Croats well aware of how unforgiving football at this level can be. So used to handing out heavy defeats of their own, it would have been a new experience for this squad who have been so dominant in their domestic football.
Olympiakos have much more experience of playing in this competition than their opponent on Tuesday, but the Greeks have struggled to make a significant impact, consistently. They have never gotten by the first knockout round and it looked like that would be the case again having lost 3-0 at home to Bayern. Very few people would have predicted Olympiakos getting a positive result in London considering their away record in the Champions League has been pretty torrid. The incredible 3-2 at the Emirates was their first away success in the group stage since October 2013, and only their fourth in their last 18.
Both of these clubs are always going to be up against it when competing at this level against the best clubs in Europe because of how little quality competition they encounter in their domestic leagues. Dinamo have won 10 straight Croatian titles whilst Olympiakos have been successful in 10 of the last 11 years in Greek football. Despite that, neither of the two have been able to make a meaningful impact on European football, whether it be this tournament or the Europa League.
Dinamo Zagreb v Olympiakos Betting Tips
Although Arsenal are still seen as favourites to progress to the knockout stage along with Bayern, it is not unrealistic to think that the the Gunners could be pointless after the double-header with Pep Guardiola’s impressive outfit. Should that happen, one of these two clubs can take a giant step into the last-16 by getting three points in Zagreb.
With so much potentially on offer for either of these, I think Tuesday’s game could be a cracker. Both have shown their ability to score goals domestically, with Zagreb managing 85 in their 36 league games last season, and 30 in 13 this, whilst Olympiakos are averaging more than three goals a game this season. All four of the fixtures involving these two in this season’s Champions League have seen three or more goals scored and there’s no doubt that the strength of both clubs is very much in attack, which should allow for an open and attacking match.
Over 2.5 goals 6/5 @ Paddypower
