Olympiacos V Bordeaux
Football : Europe : UEFA Champions League
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 - Kickoff 7:45pm

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Most footie fans will be busy watching Barcelona, and with good reason, as I reckon this might be a boring, low-scoring affair between the French and Greek champions.

Olympiacos (Greeece)

The Greek side are underdogs to qualify, despite having more Champions League experience than their opponents, as they performed poorly in an easy group and just about scraped through thanks to late wins.

Olmypiakos's last match was a domestic 5-1 win, along with their Champions League home form of 3 wins are misleading, and here's why:

The 5-1 win came over lowly Levadiakos, and was a one-off, as Olympiacos aren't the greatest goalscorers. In fact, they have a "defence first" mentality and their attacks are slow builds which means they are quite toothless up front and this result in low-scoring matches.

Olympaicos only just won their first 2 CL home games by a 1-0 margin against inferior opposition, and their final win can be discounted as their opponents, Arsenal, had already qualified and did not give them a proper fight.

Domestically, Olympiakos have been beaten in 2 of their last 4 home games by teams that aren't anywhere near as strong as Bordeaux. Despite having this "defence first" mentality, they will come up against a very stingy Bordeaux team that is sure to beat them in the 2nd leg in France.

So, as the game progresses, Olympiacos will be pressured by the need to score here to get a lead to defend, which should lead to at least one goal on the break by Bordeaux. I'd be very surprised if Olympiakos manages to score one of their own and they would be very lucky to get a draw.

Bordeaux (France)

Gone are the days when Ligue 1 was ruled by Lyon, as Bordeaux have taken over the top and are dominating teams home and away. The currently top the French tables by a 3 point margin and look to end the season with a defence of their championship.

In the CL, Bordeaux are one of only two teams that are still unbeaten. That stat becomes even more impressive when you see that they progressed from a Group of Death containing Juventus, Bayern Munich and Maccabi Haifa. The fact that they finished 1st in that group by a 6 point lead over 2nd placed Bayern makes it clear how clinical they have been in getting to the last 16.

Bordeaux's defence has been nearly perfect, conceding only the 1 goal in 3 away fixtures. Olympiacos know that they need to score in order to get Bordeaux to come forward more and that means Bordeaux will be able to use their lightening pace to break and do the required damage.

The French champs have gotten Champions LEague goals from no less than 7 different players, and the forward line-up will be led by Wendel and possible future Arsenal player, Chamakh, who already has 2 goals in Europe this season. Gourcuff and Gouffran are another couple of dangerous players to look out for, judging by the number of goals they have chipped in with domestically.

The Betting Verdict

While the real attacking display will come in France, this game should see Bordeaux frustrate the Greeks and leave with all three points.

There is a small chance of a draw, in my opinion, so the bets will be placed accordingly.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Olympiacos 0-1 Bordeaux

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Bordeaux Draw-No-Bet @ 1.80 (Bet365)

Other bets to consider :
Double Chance (Draw or Bordeaux) @ 1.40 (Bet365)
Bordeaux to win @ 2.62 (Bet365)
Under 2 goals @ 2.06 (Bet365)

Also, my banker would be Bordeaux to qualify over both legs @ 1.40 (PaddyPower)