Olympiacos Piraeus vs Arsenal Mach Preview

Olympiacos is coming from an easy win in the Greek Super League, 3-0 over weak Lamia. However, this was not an indicative matchup, as Lamia is one of the relegation contenders and also had many missings in this encounter. In their most recent demanding game, vs PSV Eindhoven for the UEFA Europa League, the Greek champions were not as strong as needed in this competition and were very close to the elimination if it wasn't the late goal from Ahmed Hassan to save them. Definitely, the Greek Champions must improve a lot and show more energy in their midfield to matchup Arsenal. They do not count on injured Rúben Semedo, who is a key defender for the Greek side.

Arsenal is coming from two great performances in the Premier League. They prevailed rather easily 3-1 on the road over strong Leicester, followed by a draw vs Burnley in a game that they were clearly the better side on the pitch. Arteta's side was pressing in the whole 90 minutes having the ball possession and creating many dangerous situations into opponents' box. However, they didn't manage to score the winner. Ghanaian midfielder Partey was great for one more time and is expected to play again a key-role. Smith Rowe remains unavailable. 

Arsenal seems much improved in the last few weeks. On the other hand, Olympiacos is not as good as earlier in this season. The visitors have the important London game vs Tottenham three days later, however, I do not expect Arteta to open his rotation. This competition is the only way for the Gunners to win a Champions League spot for the next season and they are going to fight until the end. Arsenal that we have seen the last few weeks can struggle Olympiacos and it will be quite hard for the hosts to avoid a loss here. The away win DNB is my call for this one.