Burnley v Olympiakos Betting Preview – UEFA Europa League 30th August 7.45pm
It has been a long campaign through the Europa League qualifiers already for Burnley and now their hopes of making it to the group stage look a little bit thin. The Clarets will have to make up a 3-1 deficit on home soil at Turf Moor on Thursday night to get through. They do have an away goal though to give them a bite of the cherry. But Olympiakos will know that they just need to show up and defend their advantage. Read our predictions for the Burnley v Olympiakos fixture.
Burnley News and Form
The Clarets have their work cut out for them now. The group stage of the Europa League looks a bit distant at the moment as they trail 3-1 in this tie. They almost did get a second out in Greece which would have changed the complexion a bit but it was ruled out for offside. Burnley have to score a minimum of two goals in this game.
Do they have it in them? So far in their home games in Europe this season they took down both Aberdeen and then Istanbul Buyuksehir in extra time. A Burnley 2-0 correct score option over 90 minutes is a big price of 10/1 odds* (Betting Odds were taken from August 25th, 2018 at 8:15 p.m.) and this is not going to be an easy save for the Clarets at all.
Particularity in the second half of the first leg, the Greeks were well on top of the Clarets, and Burnley struggled badly for possession. They were out there to do a defensive job of course though. Do Burnley have enough in them both in terms of personnel and tactically to get on the front foot and string together a powerful attacking display?
Chris Wood, who got their away goal in the first leg to give them a glimmer of hope is a 23/20 anytime goalscorer option* (Betting Odds were taken from August 25th, 2018 at 8:15 p.m.). Burnley’s home form this season is D2 L1 and you can’t help but feel the experience of the Greeks could be a crucial factor in this tie.
Olympiakos News and Form
Olympiakos have to get a strong defensive display out of their trip to Turf Moor. Surprisingly as they only started their domestic season over the weekend, they have been scoring well. In their three European games in the Europa League qualifiers, they have netted at least three goals in each of them. They beat Lucerne 7-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round.
So they are carrying a threat and Konstantinos Fortounis had a good game up front for them in the first leg. He is the 5/2 second favourite in the anytime goalscorer market for the game* (Betting Odds were taken from August 25th, 2018 at 8:15 p.m.). They do have the luxury of not only sitting back and defending a two-goal lead away from home now, but they will know that an away goal will finish this tie off.
They have to be aware of the general lack of scoring threat from the English Premier League side. Going back to the experience factor, Olympiakos were in the group stage of the Champions League last season playing the likes of Barcelona and Juventus. While they didn’t get an away win in the group, they battled through two qualification rounds to get there. Their away record at English sides reads W1 L0 L12, scoring 6 and conceding 39. That’s at least something Burnley can take heart from.
Burnley v Olympiakos Head to Head
This will be just the second meeting between Olympiakos and Burnley now after that first leg.
Burnley v Olympiakos Betting Odds*
Burnley 13/10
Olympiakos 21/10
Draw 23/10
* (Betting Odds were taken from August 25th, 2018 at 8:11 p.m.)
Burnley v Olympiakos Predictions
The difficult here for Burnley is that their defence has been struggling recently. They were given a tough time by the Greeks in the first leg. Will the Clarets have enough to break down their opponents enough to squeeze through. We don’t think they will qualify but for our Burnley v Olympiakos predictions, we are backing a home win.
