Odds and preview for Europa League Round of 32 second leg
A late Alexandre Lacazette goal in Athens means Arsenalhead into their Europa League second leg against Olympiakos in a very strongposition, with one foot in the draw for the last 16.
But the Greek side almost caused an upset in their firstvisit to North London this season, going 2-0 up early on against Arsenal’srivals Tottenham in the Champions League before eventually losing 4-2.
The game gets underway at 20:00 on BT Sport 3HD and we’vegot all the pre-match odds and info right here…
Match Odds
The Gunners have left themselves in a great position, with either a win or draw enough to see them through to the next round. Mikel Arteta’s side are 1/2 to win on the night, and we’ve got the draw priced up at 13/4.
Arsenal haven’t lost in any competition since December, withtheir last defeat coming against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
They came from behind at the weekend to beat Everton 3-2 atthe Emirates despite an early wobble, in an impressive team performance, withthe North London side showing real signs of progress under Arteta.
Olympiakos bounced back at the weekend, picking up a crucialaway league win at second-placed PAOK, despite being dominated for much of thematch. That win leaves them five points clear at the top of the Greek SuperLeague.
They’ll look to take the confidence from that win to theEmirates in the hope of a huge upset.
Likely XIs
Arsenal look likely to welcome back Lucas Torreira after theUruguayan midfielder missed out on the first leg through illness. Reiss Nelsonreturned to the bench at the weekend, and it’s likely he’ll retain his place there,narrowly missing out to Nicolas Pepe.
The Gunners are now without their two first choiceleft-backs due to injury, with long-term absentee Kieran Tierney still nocloser to a return, and Sead Kolasinac out after suffering a serious shoulderinjury against Everton on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Pablo Mari is still doubtful to make a firstappearance, with Cedric Soares and Callum Chambers also missing.
The Greek side don’t have too many concerns, but they’llhave to play the second leg without Ruben Semedo, with the Portuguese defenderbanned due to an accumulation of bookings in European competitions this season.
Their only other absentee is Hillal Soudani, who remains outfor the season with a cruciate ligament rupture.
Key Battles
With so many strong options in attack for Arsenal, it’ll bedown to the Olympiakos back four to deal with whatever is thrown at them.
Arteta will hope to be able to rest Pierre-EmerickAubameyang for the league, but they’ve got an abundance of back up options likeLacazette, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah, before dipping into theiroptions on the wing such as Pepe, Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Without Semedo, it’s likely Pape Abou Cisse will partnerOussynou Ba in central defence. Along with goalkeeper Jose Sa, it’ll be theirjob to restrict the shots on target, as the Arsenal attackers won’t need toomany chances to tuck them away.
Olympiakos will look to the experience of Mathieu Valbuenaand Youssef El-Arabi to trouble the Arsenal defensive unit, but David Luiz andShkodran Mustafi should have the experience to see off the danger.
Goalscorer Odds
If Arteta does go with Aubameyang upfront, we’ve got him as the favourite to break the deadlock at the Emirates at 23/10, but the Gabonese striker 8/11 to score anytime.
Lacazette gave Arsenal the first-leg advantage, and we’ve got the Frenchman at 13/10 to bag anytime, or you could get 13/2 on two or more in the second leg.
