Europa League: Olympiacos Welcome the Hammers to Greece

Olympiacos vs West Ham United

It’s crunch time for Thrylos in the Europa League group stages, as they are still looking for their first win in their campaign. They are set to host Group A leaders West Ham for a crucial match that will set the tone for the home team’s bid for the Coupe UEFA.

Despite having a lackluster start in the Premier League, David Moyes and the rest of West Ham are looking very formidable in their Europa League campaign. They are coming off a successful Europa Conference League crusade after beating ACF Fiorentina in the finals.

Thrylos, on the other hand, are thriving in Greece’s top flight. They are the top dogs in the Super League Greece as they won six of their first eight matches and have yet to tally a loss. That’s why it is perplexing that they are struggling to keep up with their European rivals in the Europa League.

Olympiacos have yet to win a Europa League match, and they need to come out victorious against the Hammers at the Georgios Karaiskakis Football Stadium if they want to keep their hopes alive.

Talking Points

Uncertainty in Stratford

The Hammers were victims of a proper thrashing at the hands of Aston Villa last weekend, forcing West Ham to drop to ninth place in the Premier League table. They are having an underwhelming start to their campaign and have lost three of their last five games in the English top flight.

In turn, the club now faces an important decision on David Moyes’ future with the Hammers. Moyes’ will be out of contract by the end of the current campaign, and it seems like neither party is in any urgency to address any future talks.

The 60-year-old football savant has taken the Hammers to respectable heights during his term at the London Stadium. He has led West Ham to sixth and seventh place finishes in their last two Premier League campaigns. Moyes was also able to lift hardware during his stint with the Hammers by winning the 2022-23 Europa Conference League.

West Ham are said to wait and see how the rest of their season pans out before deciding on their future with David Moyes.

Snap-Crackle-Pop

Thrylos are thriving in Super League Greece, as they’re sitting comfortably in first place with 20 points after eight league matches. They remain undefeated and have won six of their eight games in Greece’s top flight.

The Spanish defender for Panathinaikos, Juankar, was struck by a firecracker while warming up on the side of the field as Olympiacos and Panathinaikos were playing. The match was initially suspended while medical staff treated Juankar before being taken to the hospital for tests.

Both teams went to their respective changing rooms for an hour or so as play was suspended. After three hours of suspension, officials then decided to call off the Athens derby with a score line of 1-1 after 50 minutes of play.

The Athens Derby is garnering a bad reputation, and this recent incident surely did not help their cause. Back in 2019, the derby was abandoned due to rival fans fighting with the riot police.

After the bizarre series of events at the Georgios Karaiskakis Football Stadium last weekend, Thrylos will host West Ham on Thursday for a crucial Europa League match.

History

The last time these two teams met was way back in the mid-60s.It was during the 1965-66 Cup Winners’ Cup last 16, where West Ham comfortably dealt with the Greek club with a 6-2 score line on aggregate.

Olympiacos have been struggling in the Europa League for quite some time. They remain winless in their last 11 Europa League matches (D3 L8), and to add insult to injury, they have yet to win a home game against English clubs in a major European competition in almost 10 years.

West Ham, on the other hand, have been steamrolling in major European competition’s group stages. The Hammers have won all eight group stage games across both the Europa Conference and the Europa League.

In recent form, the Hammers are currently at the top of Group A in the Europa League, winning both of their first two matches and providing Europa League 2023 highlights along the way. They defeated Backa Topola 3-1 in their opening group stage match, then triumphed over SC Freiburg in a tough and competitive match that ended in a 1-2 score line. West Ham aim to keep their winning streak alive as they visit Olympiacos in Greece.

Meanwhile, Olympiacos are still looking for their first win in the Europa League. They lost their opening group stage match against SC Freiburg 3-2. It was a nail-biter of a game, with Maximilian Philipp finding the back of the net in the last few minutes of the match to give Freiburg the win. Thrylos put up a good fight in both of their first matches, and expect them to do the same when they host the Hammers this week.

Betting Tip

As the Europa League 2023 odds suggest, group leaders West Ham are favoured to come out victorious in this fixture at 2.03. Thrylos have yet to win a match in their Europa League campaign, but they have always been a tough matchup for any foe. They are priced at a reasonable 3.15 to win, which holds good value, but going up against an undefeated West Ham squad is quite a tall order for any club.

Another good line that caught my attention is West Ham United Asian Handicap -0.25 at 1.75. This is probably the safest line, in my opinion, but it still holds enough value for it to be interesting to bet on. SBOTOP has these two teams relatively close to each other, where the favourites are priced at a decent 2.03 to win.

 

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