Olympaikos are probably going to need a victory against Arsenal in order to go through, as we cannot expect Marseille to triumph in Dortmund. The Gunners, on the other hand, have already secured the first place in the standings, which basically means that Arsene Wenger can rest his star players and field a severely weakened line-up.

Good chance for Olympiakos

The Greek giants looked to be out of contention for a place in the knockout stages after the opening defeats to Marseille and Arsenal, but home victory over Borussia Dortmund and away triumph over the French giants saw Olympaikos revive their qualifying hopes. Ernesto Valverde’s side have undergone major changes in the summer, which is one of the reasons for somewhat inconsistent performances, but the team are showing signs of improvement and I expect to see a strong performance against what will be Arsenal’s second string side. After the shock defeat to Marseille in their opening Champions League game, Olympaikos won five and drew two games at their Karaiskaki, proving they are a real force to be reckoned with in front of their own fans. Boosted by the big support from the stands, the hosts are likely to adopt attack-minded approach against Arsenal, and everything suggests we will see a very open game.

Olof Melberg resumed full training and he should be ready to start, while Ariel Ibagaza should be fit to play after shaking off a minor knock. Francisco Yeste and Ljubomir Fejsa remain sidelined, whereas David Fuster is a major doubt.

Wenger to field a young side

Having experienced major problems at the start to the season, Arsenal were not really expected to achieve big things this term, but the Gunners have recovered well from all the worries and are now playing great football. The 4:0 away win over Wigan was Arsenal’s 11th triumph in last 15 games, and Arsene Wenger is now eager to keep the good run going for as long as possible. Some very good Champions League showings have seen the Gunners ensure the first place in the group before the final round, meaning that Wenger can now rest his key players for the Everton clash, while giving some youngsters a chance to shine. Players like Coquelin, Chamberlain and Frimpong have done the Frenchman proud in the Carling Cup defeat to Manchester City, so there is no reason why they shouldn’t be given another chance. Wenger may not be fielding his strongest side in Greece, but that certainly doesn’t mean that Gunners are not going to try and win this game.

With no fresh injuries to report, we should see a similar side to the one that played pretty well in the Carling Cup quarter-final against Manchester City.

Verdict

The odds are that Olympiakos will need a victory to go through and backed by the vociferous support from the stands, the hosts should attack their opponents from the off. Arsenal’s inexperienced team could face some problems at the back, but their attacking qualities should also come to the fore, so both teams to score looks like a good choice here.

Our prediction: Both teams to score

Odds: 2.20 (6/5)

Bookmaker: Ladbrokes