Genk v Olympiacos

Genk vs Olympiakos Preview

Following a 1-0 defeat away from home in Greece against Olympiakos in the 1st leg of this 3rd Qualifying Round tie in the Europa League, Belgian hosts, Genk, find themselves chasing a one-goal deficit when they return to their Cegeka Arena for this decisive fixture.

Previously, Genk had been dumped out of the early qualifying rounds of the Champions League by Swiss side, Servette, in a penalty shoot-out after the scores were level at 1-1 after normal and extra-time which would have been even more frustrating for the Belgian club.

That loss to Servette was the start of a three-match losing streak for Genk as defeats followed against Eupen in the domestic First Division A along with last week's loss to Olympiakos, but Genk did manage to return to winning ways on the weekend in the Belgian top flight.

A welcome and much-needed 1-0 win away from home at Cercle Brugge should give Genk a timely boost ahead of this crucial return leg against Olympiakos, but the hosts have lost three of their last four Europa League ties at home so the prospects of a straight win here seem slim.

Olympiakos will be looking to defend their 1-0 lead in this two-legged Europa League tie when they make their way to Belgium on Thursday night, and having lost just once in their last 10 matches overall in all competitions, the Greek visitors look set to progress into the Play-Off stage of this competition.

The Greek visitors have registered six wins in the process, while also keeping a total of five clean sheets which have contributed to seven of Olympiakos' last 10 matches overall result in Under 2.5 goals.

However, the same cannot be said for Olympiakos' exploits away from home in the Europa League as the visitors have managed to capture just one win from their previous eight away ties at this level, which came in the form of a win on penalties at Slovan Bratislava last season.

Four defeats and three draws suggest it may be best to steer clear of the straight win markets but interestingly, five of Olympiakos' last 10 away games in all competitions have resulted in Under 2.5 goals.

Genk v Olympiakos Verdict

Both Genk and Olympiakos have hardly covered themselves in glory in home and away ties respectively in the Europa League and as a result, another low-scoring encounter could unfold at the Cegeka Arena as both teams have so much at stake in reaching the play-offs stage of this competition.

Olympiakos have also kept a number of clean sheets on their travels as well, thus making further claims for a low-scoring clash on Thursday night in this crucial return leg.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.95

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.75

Correct score: 1-1 @ 7.50