Olympiakos – Arsenal 04.12.2012

Olympiakos have nothing to play for, but pride. Their third place in the group B is guaranteed as they can’t catch the Gunners on second, or be caught by last placed Montpellier.

The coach Leonardo Jardim has almost all players available, with Avram Papadopoulous as only absentee due to knee injury. Kostas Mitroglu and Giannis Maniatis have both picked up slight knocks in the last domestic fixture against Platanias on Saturday, but is expected to be ready on time.

Arsenal have already qualified for the knock-out stage, but still this match is very important for Arsene Wenger. The manager will try to win in Greece, first because the victory will boost the team morale (following Saturday’s 2:0 home defeat to Swansea), and second, to reach the first place in the group if Schalke fail to win against Montpellier. Wenger have three injured players in front of this match – Andre Santos is doubtful, while Abou Diaby and Lukasz Fabianski are definitely out.

Bookmaker: Bet365  –> Get Your free bet here!

I expect an open and efficient match at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki in Piraeus. Arsenal will try to win, no doubt about that. And Olympiakos is host, they will not defend in front of their own fans. The statistic is also with my pick. Olympiakos have played Over 2.5 in four of the five group matches, while Arsenal in three.

At the end I will mention that the last three mutual games between two teams have finished with Over 2.5 goals. I expect the series of efficient matches to continue.