Lightning won't strike twice for Olympiakos
Wolverhampton Wanderers look to get over the line into the Europa League’s last eight when they welcome Olympiakos to Molineux on Thursday evening. They come into the second leg ahead on away goals after a 1-1 draw in Greece in early March. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side’s campaign in this competition became a whole lot more important on Saturday when Arsenal were crowned FA Cup winners, meaning Wolves’ seventh placed finish in the Premier League was not enough to secure Europa League football for next season. It is now Champions League or nothing for Wolves, needing to win the competition to earn a route into European football for the 2020/21 season.
End to the domestic season
Olympiakos regained the Greek Super League title very comfortably, making it their eighth league title in 10 seasons. Losing out to AEK Athens and PAOK in the two years before. They were 18 points ahead of second place, so the final few games did not have as high of an intensity as the rest, possibly being a blessing in preparation for this fixture.
After hitting the ground running and flirting with the idea of breaking into the top four, Wolves slumped a little, only winning two of their last six games, losing without scoring to Sheffield United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Key men
Mexican goal machine Raul Jimenez is the player Wolves fans will look to, to carry their side into the quarter finals. He is 2.25 to score at anytime, at a BetBlazers best price of 2.25 with Betfair. He added four of his 17 league goals after the COVID-19 enforced pause of the season and will be a handful for the Olympiakos backline. The 29-year-old has 26 goals and 10 assists in all competitions, with the supply from wide areas through the likes of Adama Traore and Matt Doherty, Jimenez has improved aerially this term. The talisman striker is the main man in this one.
However, Olympiakos have their own trump card to Jimenez, 33-year-old striker Youssef El Arabi has notched over 20 league goals in four consecutive seasons. And up against Wolves who occasionally show a soft underbelly defensive, El Arabi will fancy his chances. Conor Coady is an excellent ball player in the centre of Santo’s back three, but he is very vulnerable when it comes to one on one defending. Olympiakos have already stunned Arsenal in this season’s Europa League and will be hungry for another Premier League scalp on Thursday.
Wolves are the better side if they can bring their best. The thinness of their squad contributed to their drop off towards the end of the league season, they will need to pull together to get through to the last eight.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
A strong display from Rui Patricio saw Wolves safely through, the aforementioned Raul Jimenez grabbed the only goal of the game from 12 yards.