Olympiakos vs Sporting Braga Prediction: Visitors are happy travellers

Last year's Europa Conference League winners Olympiakos are in action on Thursday (17:45, TNT Sports 7) as they host Sporting Braga at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in the Europa League. The Greek side lost their opening fixture 2-0 at Lyon last week so they will be looking to respond on home soil.

Their Portuguese visitors were 2-1 winners over Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and they will be gunning for a second consecutive victory in Piraeus. Read on for my Olympiakos vs Sporting Braga prediction, featuring match odds and team news.

Olympiakos vs Sporting Braga Odds

Olympiakos are 21/20 to win this contest, giving them an implied probability of 48.8%. Sporting Braga are valued at 23/10 to take the three points, which gives them a theoretical chance of 30.3%. The draw is available at 12/5 (29.4%).

Both teams to score can be backed at 8/11, while over 2.5 goals is marketed at 10/11.

Football Odds

Team News 

Gelson Martins and Giorgos Masouras are out of action for Olympiakos due to injury. Santiago Hezze, Francisco Ortega and Dani Garcia were demoted to the bench at the weekend so they could be reinstated to the starting lineup on Thursday.

Former Fulham, Arsenal and Chelsea winger Willian will be itching for his first start since joining the Greek side over the summer. The Brazilian made a second-half appearance at the weekend in the victory over Atromitos in Super League Greece.

Striker Ayoub El Kaabi, who was a force to be reckoned with on the European stage last year with five goals in 10 Europa Conference League appearances, looks set to start this clash after being named in the starting XI against Lyon last week.

He was partnered up top by Ukrainian Roman Yaramchuk, so this duo could be deployed to lead the line against Braga.

For the visitors, former Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Joao Moutinho, Robson Bambu and Rodrigo Zalazar are unavailable for selection as the trio are in the medical bay.

After being dropped to the bench at the weekend, we are expected to see Andre Horta start in Greece. Winger Bruma will have the chance to score for a fourth consecutive match after he notched a goal and an assist from the bench at the weekend against Rio Ave in Primeira Liga.

Draw or Sporting Braga & both teams to score @ 13/8

Olympiakos were brilliant in the Europa Conference League last season and fully merited their first European honour. They have already noticed the step up in quality this year in the second-tier competition with their defeat in Lyon, but they will be hoping that they can get off the mark on home soil.

Braga will be another tough test, however, as they are another club well-seasoned when it comes to European football and they will fancy themselves to upset the hosts.

The home factor has played into my thinking here because I know that Olympiakos can cause a racket here, but I think Braga's away record this season has been just too good. They are yet to lose when playing away from home in all competitions this season and this unbeaten run now stretches to six games.

Therefore, I think the sensible selection for me to go with is draw or Sporting Braga, but I have boosted the odds by adding both teams to score. The hosts have failed to score in just one of their three matches at home in all competitions this season, while BTTS has been a winning selection in three of their seven opening fixtures.

Braga have seen both teams find the back of the net in six of their 14 matches across all competitions this term. BTTS has landed in four of their seven Europa League matches (including qualifiers and play-offs) in 2024/25, so I can sense this trend continuing on Thursday.

Olympiakos forward El Kaabi will look to cause the Portuguese outfit some problems but I think the visitors have the capability to keep their unbeaten away run going.

Over 2.5 goals @ 10/11

As such with my first selection, I don't think there will be a shortage of goals in Piraeus on Thursday. Over 2.5 goals has been a winning selection in three of Olympiakos' six league fixtures this campaign, while it has also landed in three of Braga's seven fixtures in the Primeira Liga.

The visitors have also seen at least three goals scored in their last three matches in all competitions, in which they have scored three, two and four against Nacional, Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Rio Ave respectively.

They have been demonstrating their firepower in those matches, and I think this will have alerted Olympiakos, who are hoping to record their first game in the Europa League with a win.

Both teams have players who can make a difference in the final third. I have spoken a lot about El Kaabi for the hosts a lot in this preview, but the visitors also have the talents of Bruma, Gabri Martinez and Ricardo Horta, who can all make things happen in and around the penalty box.

I think this will be a very interesting game, and the quality in both squads should shine through on the scoreline.

Offers

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