Tuesday, Porto hosts Olympiakos on behalf of the 2nd day of Group C of the Champions League. Porto will want to react after losing their first game while Olympiakos hope to win a second victory.
FC Porto vs Olympiakos Piraeus Soccer Betting Picks
Despite strong resistance from Benfica, FC Porto gained the upper hand in the fight for the Portuguese league title last season. The club has indeed won 1st place in the standings with 5 lengths ahead of their rival. In the process, they won their first two games of the season played against Braga (3-1) and Boavista (0-5) before experiencing a small stop against Maritimo (2-3) and sharing the points. with Sporting last weekend (2-2). Absent from the Champions League last year, they did not shine at the lower level in the Europa League by being eliminated in the round of 16 by Bayer Leverkusen. Back in the Champions League, the Dragons logically had to bow to Manchester City. Before this meeting against Olympiakos, they will face Gil Vicente.
Opposite, Olympiakos finished in 3rd place in their Champions League group behind Bayern and Tottenham but ahead of Red Star Belgrade. Relegated to the Europa League, the Piraeus players had brought down Arsenal before Wolverhampton avenged their compatriots. On the other hand, Mathieu Valbuena’s gang outclassed their championship by finishing at the top of the standings with 18 lengths ahead of their runner-up, PAOK Salonika. To start their season, she won 3 of her first 4 days, the last of which was against Atromitos Athens (4-0) and will not play this weekend in the league. Wednesday evening, after a rather weak meeting, they snatched the victory against OM (1-0) in added time.
The workforce for FC Porto vs Olympiakos Piraeus
For Porto, substitute goalkeeper Mbaye and experienced defender Marcano are unable to hold their place. On top of that, the club lost quite a bit at the end of the transfer window by letting go of the excellent left-back Alex Telles who joined Manchester United. Last week, former Nice Malang Sarr, on loan from Chelsea, made his debut as a starter against Manchester City. Upfront, the trio Corona, Marega, Diaz could start.
Olympiakos should make the trip without the little-used midfielder Tiago Silva (ex-Nottingham Forest) and the Belgian striker Cuypers (ex-Ajaccio) are still on the floor. Several heads are well known by fans of Ligue 1 including that of defender Cissé (ex-Ajaccio), midfielders Camara (ex-Ajaccio), M’Vila (ex-Rennes, Sainté) and Valbuena (ex-OM) and the top scorer, El-Arabi (ex-Caen). There are also very experienced defenders Rafinha (ex-Bayern) and Holebas (38 caps for the Greek national team). Against OM, Mathieu Valbuena had an excellent match and proved that he can still play at a very high level despite his 36 years.
The official line-ups for Porto vs Olympiakos:
Porto: Marchesin – Sarr, Mbemba, Pepe, Sanusi – Sergio Oliveira, Uribe – Corona, Fabio Vieira, Diaz – Marega.
Olympiakos: José Sa – Rafinha, Ruben Semedo, Ba, Holebas – Masouras, M’Vila, Bouchalakis – Randelovic, El-Arabi, Valbuena.
Key points for the match FC Porto vs Olympiakos Piraeus
The meeting will be played with a very limited number of spectators (30% of the stadium capacity).
The two coaches will be able to make 5 changes in this meeting.
FC Porto vs Olympiakos Piraeus Soccer Betting Picks
Despite losing to Manchester City, Porto could gain the upper hand over Olympiakos. Porto victory!
Betting Picks: Porto
Odds: 1.63
