Aston Villa vs Olympiakos Match Preview
Aston Villa’s first-ever European clash with Greek opposition will come in their UEFA Europa Conference League semifinal first leg, with Olympiakos heading to Villa Park on Thursday night.
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Aston Villa is 32 years removed from their only European trophy, coming in the 1981/82 European Cup. Since then, they have reached two other quarterfinals, losing both of them. This time, Unai Emery’s men have returned to a continental semifinal for the first time since that aforementioned European Cup glory.
Villa will have to balance domestic and continental action even more so from here on in. While they have opened up a seven-point lead over Tottenham Hotspur for fourth spot in the Premier League, there is still work to be done. Spurs has a game in hand, which they will be playing at the same time as Villa’s Conference League clash. And, since England failed to earn a fifth Champions League spot via the seasonal coefficient ranking, fourth spot is even more important for them.
For all of their domestic dominance, Olympiakos has seldom lived up to that promise on the continental scene. Remarkably, this is their first European semifinal at the 58th attempt. Winners of the Greek Super League a record 47 times, Olympiakos is no stranger to European football.
Erythroleykoi‘s form has improved over the last seven games as well, with five wins in that run compared to one loss. That defeat did come in their last Conference League game, a 1-0 loss to Fenerbahçe, although the Greeks did prevail on penalties. Still, they sit fourth in Greece, which, depending on the Greek Cup final at the end of the month, might not be enough for continental football next term.
Match Facts
Date: Thursday, 2 May 2024
Kickoff Time: 21:00 CET (15:00 ET/12:00 PT)
Location: Villa Park, Birmingham, England
Aston Villa vs Olympiakos Predicted Lineups
Aston Villa: Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bailey, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Rogers; Diaby, Watkins
Olympiakos: Tzolakis; Rodinei, Retsos, Carmo, Ortega; Chiquinho, Hezze, Horta; Podence, El Kaabi, Fortounis
Aston Villa vs Olympiakos Odds
| Aston Villa Win / To Advance | 1.40 / 1.33 |
| Draw | 4.75 |
| Olympiakos / To Advance | 7.50 / 3.25 |
| Both Teams Score Y/N | 1.83 / 1.83 |
| Over / Under 2.5 Goals | 1.66 / 2.15 |
Aston Villa vs Olympiakos Prediction
Aston Villa to win at 1.40
Villa comes into the tie as the overwhelming favourite to progress. However, they will not have it easy against the Greeks. With that said, Villa should win the home leg, especially seeing that they have won all six home games in Europe this season.
Olympiakos has already visited England this campaign, falling 2-1 to West Ham United in the Europa League group stage. Keep in mind that Oly won the away legs of their knockout round playoffs and round of 16 games in the Conference League. That, combined with their recent form, gives them the chance to pull something of an upset.
Aston Villa vs Olympiakos Tip
Over 2.5 goals at 1.66
Both sides have been in games with goals recently. Six of Villa’s last seven games have seen more than 2.5 goals in them, with five of Olympakos’ last seven having more than 2.5 goals as well. This could be a good omen for plenty of goalmouth action on Thursday night.
In the Conference League, all but one of Villa’s six home games featured over 2.5 goals. That streak looks set to continue on Thursday night, as both sides will look to carry a first leg advantage to Greece for the following week.