Olympiakos vs Panionios
Competition: Greece Super League
Date: 18 February 2018
Kick-off: 18:30 CET
From bad to worse… After losing 2-1 at home to AEK in the Super League to fall third in the table, and after losing to the Athens side a few days later in the Cup getting eliminated from the competition, Olympiakos drew at Atromitos last weekend, and that wasn’t even the worst that happened to them; they had three points deducted because of “things” their “fans” did after the end of the home match against AEK. They have appealed, their punishment could get reduced, but either way, they are left six points behind leaders PAOK and four behind second-placed AEK in the Super League. Most of all, they have been left with their morale… shuttered. It seems that the president and his associates have already started preparing for next season, realizing that winning the championship is a practically lost target. As for last weekend, they were… lucky to be awarded with a penalty just before the 90-minute mark. They were 2-1 down, Djurdjevic ignored the bench’s order not to take the penalty, took it either way, missed it, but Hajsafi was at the right place to send the ball in and equalise 2-2. As for Djurdjevic, he was fined. Olympiakos are hosting Panionios without fans, part of the punishment they received for the ugly scenes at their stadium after that 2-1 defeat to AEK two weeks ago.
A simple Panionios win was paying 1.65 last weekend when they hosted Lamia, so I took the risk to combine it with “under 2.5”. The risk paid off, as the Nea Smirni side won “just” 1-0. They had chances to score much more, but ironically, it was a penalty late in the match that gave them all three points. Their “poor” 1-0 was enough to leave them fifth in the table, taking perfect advantage of Xanthi’s draw to Kerkyra, and Asteras Tripolis’ defeat at AEK (all three had 28 points before their last games, but only Panionios jumped to 31). It was Panionios’ first win after three draws and a defeat in the Super League, a much-needed “three-pointer”. Important detail; Panionios are facing several problems ahead of this match, missing key players. Do take that into consideration before choosing your bet.
Previous five matches:
Atromitos vs Olympiakos 2-2
AEK Athens vs Olympiakos 2-1
Olympiakos vs AEK Athens 1-2
Asteras Tripolis vs Olympiakos 1-1
Olympiakos vs AEK Athens 0-0
Panionios vs Lamia 1-0
Lamia vs Panionios 1-4
AEL Larissa vs Panionios 0-0
Panionios vs PAS Giannina 0-1
Panionios vs Lamia 1-0
Olympiakos’ next game is at PAOK, next Sunday. A day earlier, Panionios will have hosted Asteras Tripolis (both Greece Super League matches).
Olympiakos vs Panionios: Head to head Stats
Three wins for Olympiakos, one for Panionios and a draw, in the last five games between these two in Piraeus. Three of those five matches stayed under 2.5 goals.
Olympiakos vs Panionios: Prediction
Olympiakos are Wounded, capital “W”, they are playing without fans in the stands (they are banned), they are facing a good team, but, a team with players missing. Plus, possibly exactly because Olympiakos are so “hurt”, I expect them to react.
Olympiakos vs Panionios: Betting Tips
A simple Olympiakos win pays just 1.22. “Over 2.5 goals” is at 1.95 betting odds, I like it a lot, expecting Olympiakos to score at least twice. “Olympiakos and over 2.5 goals” is at 2.00, but despite backing the hosts to win, I would stick to that “over 2.5” without Olympiakos’ win, feeling that the 0.05 difference is not worth the always existing risk.
More Greece Super League betting tips and match previews:
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