Olympiacos v Arsenal Champions League Betting Preview

Champions League / Ben Lyttleton / 08 December 2009 / Leave a Comment

Zico faces the usual barrage of questions in the obligatory Champions League pre-match press conference ahead of Olympiacos' match against Arsenal.

"That will suit Zico perfectly: one point and he will have achieved his target of a last-16 place for Olympiacos, who traditionally dominate domestically but trail behind Panathinaikos in Europe."

Those who remember the great Brazilian playmaker Zico sprinkling the pitch with touches of magic may be surprised to see how pragmatic and conservative he is in setting up his teams. But when Arsenal come to town tomorrow night, that approach could pay off says Ben Lyttleton.

When Olympiacos sacked Temuri Ketsbaia as coach and replaced him with Zico at the start of this season, any fans hoping for some Brazilian flair at the club soon had their hopes dashed. Anyone who watched his organized and far from flamboyant CSKA Moscow side play at the end of his reign would have spotted the misconception about Zico as coach: just because he played great football in Brazil's 1982 national team, he does not preach an attacking style of play.

Indeed, even Olympiacos centre-back Olof Mellberg has explained his team's style under the new coach in apologetic terms, saying, "We are well-organised and hard to break down in defence; we are good at defending and a lot of our attacking threat comes from set-pieces."

Given that the Greek champions need only a point against Arsenal to be sure of second spot in Group H, and have conceded only three goals in ten home matches this season, the Under-2.5 Goals market, at [1.66], looks a fair price.

With Arsenal's position at the top of the group secure and an important Premier league match with Liverpool to come at the weekend, Arsene Wenger can be expected to field something similar to a Carling Cup side, and boost the European experience of improving midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere.

But he cannot risk an injury to another key player, which is why Eduardo, who sat out the win over Stoke with a muscle strain, might miss out again. Arsenal's problem this season has not been creating chances but finishing them off, and against a well-drilled Olympiacos defence and in-form Greek No 1 Antonis Nikopoidis in goal, there may not be too many goalscoring chances.

That will suit Zico perfectly: one point and he will have achieved his target of a last-16 place for Olympiacos, who traditionally dominate domestically but trail behind Panathinaikos in Europe. And though both managers spent time coaching in Japan, they have returned with entirely different philosophies: on this occasion, Zico's pragmatism may just be enough to frustrate Wenger's idealism.

Recommended bets

Draw @ ([3.35])
Correct Score of 0-0 @ ([9.0])