UEL: West Ham vs Olympiacos Betting Tips & Odds
West Ham Seek Revenge
Olympiacos End West Ham’s Record Unbeaten Run
No English team has ever managed a longer unbeaten run in UEFA competitions than West Ham. Prior to October’s 2-1 loss at Olympiacos, the Hammers were 17 games unbeaten. Now, the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League champions host Olympiacos for Thursday’s reverse fixture. We’ll check out some West Ham vs Olympiacos betting tips ahead of an important Group A match. This is one of the most anticipated Europa League games of the week, as both sides have knockout stage ambitions.
West Ham vs Olympiacos
Day/Time:
Location: London Stadium, London, England
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Two weeks ago, West Ham and Olympiacos played for the first time in nearly 60 years. Olympiacos scored twice in the first half, through Kostas Fortounis and Rodinei. West Ham only managed a late consolation goal, which Lucas Paqueta scored. It was one of the more impressive Europa League results of the season, as Olympiacos ended West Ham’s 17-game UEFA unbeaten run. When these teams met in the 1965-66 European Cup Winners’ Cup, West Ham won 4-0 at home and drew 2-2 away to advance to the third round.
West Ham Floundering
It’s been a disappointing last month for West Ham. Since defeating Freiburg 2-1 in the Europa League on October 5th, the Hammers are just 1-1-4 in all competitions. Over the weekend, West Ham led 2-1 at Brentford but blew their lead and fell 3-2 for their third straight Premier League defeat. Mohammed Kudus was a bright spot in the match as he scored an acrobatic volley and was involved in West Ham’s second goal as well.
West Ham did put in a solid performance last week in the EFL Cup round of 16 vs. Arsenal. The Hammers came away with a 3-1 win as their goals came from Ben White own goal, Kudus and Jarrod Bowen. Heading into Thursday’s match, both Kudus and Bowen have scored in back-to-back matches. While these players pose a threat, West Ham haven’t gotten enough from their strikers this season. Michail Antonio hasn’t scored since August and Danny Ings hasn’t yet found the net, albeit in limited minutes.
West Ham haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last seven matches and have suffered from multiple defensive errors in recent weeks. Currently, center-back Kurt Zouma is listed as doubtful for Thursday’s match. Although West Ham’s 17-game unbeaten run in Europa is over, they’ll still want to finish first in Group A and three points would go a long way here. Most West Ham vs Olympiacos betting tips suggest backing the Hammers to get at least a point here.
Olympiacos Fall to Bitter Rivals
Olympiacos suffered their first 90-minute loss of the Greek Super League season on Sunday. Facing bitter rivals PAOK at home, Olympiacos went down 4-0 by the 78th minute. Kostas Fortounis and Giorgos Masouras managed consolation goals for the hosts but it was too little, too late. Olympiacos’ other loss in the Super League was due to a match abandonment. A firework hit Panathinaikos player Juankar a few weeks ago with the score tied at one.
Currently, Olympiacos are in third place in Europa League Group A, with a win, a draw and a loss. With their win over West Ham two weeks ago as +170 underdogs, Olympiacos foiled a number of soccer parlay. Olympiacos have scored two goals in each of their first three Europa League games but are yet to keep a clean sheet in the competition so far. Including Europa League qualifiers, they’ve scored in each of the 17 games they’ve played this season.
So far, Ayoub El Kaabi leads Olympiacos with two goals in the Europa League. Both of those goals came in the 3-2 opening loss at SC Freiburg. Along with El Kaabi, Fortounis, and Masouras, Daniel Podence is another attacking threat to be aware of for Thursday’s match.
Match Analysis & Odds
Heading into Thursday’s match, West Ham is a -150 moneyline favorite. The West Ham vs Olympiacos odds also list the visitors as +370 underdogs and a draw sits at +320 odds. A win for West Ham would mean one foot in the knockout stage but their recent form has been highly concerning. Still, they are playing at home and flashed their potential with last week’s win over Arsenal.
Kudus has been in excellent form for West Ham and expect him to play a role here for David Moyes’ side. Midfielders Lucas Paqueta and Edson Alvarez were suspended for the Hammers over the weekend but should have fresh legs for this one. Olympiacos should also be motivated following what was, quite frankly, an embarrassing loss to PAOK.
Bettors can take West Ham -0.5, -1 at -120, while Olympiacos +0.5, +1 sits at -110. Note that both teams have scored in all three of West Ham and Olympiacos’ Europa League schedule this season. Still, under three goals display -115 odds for this one. One of the most common West Ham vs Olympiacos betting tips is taking both teams to score at -165.
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