Olympiakos v Manchester United - 1x2 - Champions League

Match	Date	Selection	Bet	Odds	Bet now
Olympiakos v Manchester United - 1x2 - Champions League Champions League Uefa, International	25/02/2014 20:45	full time result	X	3.40	Bet at B
Betting prediction was written by Ronny

Olympiakos is the runaway leader domestically. Over the course of the season they’ve been fantastic. No wonder really as they have a really talented squad. They’ve sold Kostas Mitroglou (Top Scorer while at Olympiakos) to Fulham. However, they’ve been scoring freely since the transfer window shut, so there is no evidence they’ve been weakened much.

The Greeks have documented excellent recent form by beating OFI 4-0 on the road this weekend. Javier Saviola was injured in that game and is a doubt here. It did not look as that was a problem though against OFI as 22 year old Marko Scepovic scored a hat trick after coming on after 33 minutes of the first half. Young Michael Olaitan has also stepped up with several goals in February, so up front the Greeks look to be on par with the team we saw in the group stages.

In the Champions League Olympiakos has been a very strong home side. Since and including 2011 they are 6-0-3 at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki. This year they lost to PSG, but both Anderlecht and Benfica were beaten. It is worth noticing Olympiakos played Arsenal both in 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 and won both those ties. In the first of those Arsenal matches the Gunners were already through. However in the 2012/2013 game Arsenal still had motivation, so that was a strong win.

Manchester United, as you know is having a troubled season domestically. They currently sit sixth in the table and it is highly unlikely they will be competing for a Champions League spot. However, they can still win this year’s edition of the tournament and qualify that way. United played a decent match away to Crystal Palace this weekend, winning 2-0 after goals by Rooney and RVP.

Away from home in the Champions League Manchester United has drawn Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Sociedad 1-1, while beating Leverkusen 5-0.

For this game Danny Welbeck (Attacking midfielder), Rafael (Full back) and Phil Jones (versatile defensive player) should be available for selection. Nani is still out.

Run of play

I expect this game to be quite even in terms of possession. Olympiakos should have the confidence to go at Manchester United, as Man United anno 2014 seemingly is there for the taking. David Moyes will most likely go for a composed performance, relying on well executed counter attacks. He now has the luxury of playing his expected best eleven. With the likes of Rooney, RVP, Welbeck, Mata, Hernandez, Kagawa and new kid on the block Januzaj this Man United side has plenty to offer going forward, and not many sides on this planet will contain them.

1x2 betting tip

I am not going to back Manchester United against such a strong home side at the odds on offer (around 2.10-2.20). Even the most diehard Manchester United fans can understand those odds are really poor. On a bright note; that means there potentially is value in the 1X odds.

Out of the 1 and the X I much prefer the latter. Why? Simply because I think Man United has goals in them and I do think they’ll score. I also see Olympiakos creating enough to grab a goal.

Given this being a two legged affair I think Manchester United will be plenty happy if they score, say 1-0 or equalize to 1-1. At that moment I think they will try to shore the game up rather than gamble. In my opinion this increases the chances of a draw quite considerably.

Bet365 offers 3.40 for the draw! That equals a 29.41176% chance for a draw here. Given my arguments above I would say this is value. Personally I would not set this X any higher than 3.20, and even then I would not be entirely comfortable with those odds.

Bet365 offers all new clients up to £200 in free money as a deposit bonus. If you deposit £200 you could wager £400 on the game. That alone adds tremendously to the value on offer.

Take the value, click here

• Bet now at B

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