Olympiacos vs Tottenham Hotspur Predictions

Champions League match day 1 is upon us, and now is the time that the competition starts to get serious. The lengthy period of qualification is over, and we finally get to see some of the titans of Europe go head to head with one another over the next 9 months.

Last year’s beaten finalists have a couple of weeks to wait until their first powerhouse clash with Bayern Munich, but a trip to a formidable looking Olympiacos side will serve as a tough warm up for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.

Olympiacos missed out on the Greek Super League title by 5 points last season, but the Greek giants are no strangers to victory. In fact, they haven’t lost a competitive match since February and have already easily navigated their way through 3 rounds of Champions League qualification, but this will be a much bigger test for them.

The hosts’ last foray into the Champions League proper was back in 2017, and it didn’t end well for Olympiacos. They lost 5 of their 6 group stage games and drew the remaining one, and they have lost 4 of their last 6 Champions League group stage games at home.

Tottenham may not have started the season quite as well as they’d have liked, but a 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace at the weekend allowed them to ease off in the second half of the match. They have taken a point away to both Manchester City and Arsenal this term, so their only real disappointment was their 1-0 defeat at home to Newcastle.

Last season’s Champions League campaign was full of drama for Spurs fans, and their group stage performance wasn’t exactly spectacular. They only qualified by the skin of their teeth, but Olympiacos pose much less of a threat than the likes of Inter Milan and Barcelona.

Tottenham won 16 of their 30 competitive away games last season, many of them against much more illustrious opponents than Olympiacos. They have drawn both of their trips away so far this season against Man City and Arsenal, so we’re expecting their Champions League experience to shine through here. This is a squad full of talent and confidence, and backing them to find the 3 points looks a good choice.

However, we’re not expecting a high scoring game. Spurs have scored 1 or fewer goals in 19 of their 33 fixtures in 2019, and Olympiacos haven’t conceded in any of their Champions League qualifiers. For this reason, we’re going for a narrow 1-0 win for the visitors.