Barcelona has swept through the first half of the group stage as they lead Group D, and in the next matchday on Halloween, they’ll visit the bottom team in the group, Greece’s Olympiakos.
What To Know About Barcelona
Barcelona got an own-goal to open the scoring in their 3-1 home win over Olympiakos in their last Champions League game, and then Lionel Messi and Lucas Digne scored. Gerard Pique got a red card in the 42nd minute and will miss this return game, and they allowed their first goal of the group stage, but they did their job. Messi (who scored his 100th goal in the Champions League) is playing extremely well for Barcelona, who have had plenty of changes with Neymar leaving for Paris Saint-Germain and Luis Suarez hasn’t been at his best since coming back from an injury. However, Messi can still win games by himself and as long as he is around, Barcelona is the class of this group. But as they go farther in the competition, he is going to need some help. Barcelona will visit Athletic Bilbao in La Liga play on the weekend before this game, so Olympiakos will be hoping that they catch a tired Barca team on Tuesday.
What To Know About Olympiakos
Dimitris Nikolaou scored a consolation goal in the 89th minute for Olympiakos, who have scored three goals in three games, which isn’t great, but it is fine. The problem is at the other end, where Olympiakos has given up eight goals, including five on the road, so at least they’re a little better at home. A point would go a long way in possibly setting up Olympiakos for a run at the Europa League, which is the reward for third place in the group, and they’re going to need their defense to step up. Not scoring own goals, especially against a team of Barcelona’s class, would go a long way. Offensively, watch out for Kostantinos Fortounis, a midfielder/winger who has four goals and an assist in all competitions for Olympiakos, who will visit Panathinaikos in the Greek Super League this weekend.
Outlook
Barcelona are favored on the road at -550 with Olympiakos coming in at +1200, and a draw is rated at +600. The first match was the first time that Olympiakos and Barcelona met, and the first match in Barcelona went basically how you thought it would. The second match should be more of a repeat as Barcelona just has too much for Olympiakos, even on the road, and Messi will eventually get loose, which makes the opposition scatter and opens everything else up for everyone else. Barcelona has a three-point lead over Juventus for the top spot in the group, so they would like to get a win to make things a little easier on themselves. Olympiakos will play Barcelona tough at home in Greece, and a draw is their best possible outcome, but eventually the class of Barca will show up and they’ll get three points for the win.
Champions League Betting Pick: Barcelona
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