Olympiakos vs Aston Villa prediction, betting tips and odds: Tired Villa look set for Athens elimination

BetMGM are offering £40 in free bets when you bet on Olympiakos vs Aston Villa. You can grab your free bets here. 

We’ve included instructions on how to claim your offer later on in this article.

Where to watch Olympiakos vs Aston Villa

You can watch Olympiakos vs Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League at 8pm on Thursday, May 9, live on TNT Sports 1

Match prediction & best bet

Olympiakos or draw double chance
1pt 4-5 general

Already advised

Olympiakos to qualify
1pt 9-4 general

You can bet on Olympiakos vs Aston Villa here and get £40 in free bets with BetMGM

Olympiakos vs Aston Villa

Olympiakos 5-2
Aston Villa Evs
Draw 29-10

Odds correct at time of publishing

Olympiakos vs Aston Villa predictions

Aston Villa remain on course for a top-four finish in the Premier League but their hopes of winning a trophy could disappear in Athens against Olympiakos on Thursday.

Unai Emery's side went into the Europa Conference League semi-finals as competition favourites but their odds lengthened from 11-10 to 4-1 after last Thursday's dismal 4-2 first-leg loss at Villa Park.

Expectant Villa supporters approached the tie with high hopes having seen their team reel off six successive European home wins, but they were given a rude awakening with Olympiakos forging two goals ahead inside the opening 30 minutes.

Emery's side levelled the match with goals either side of half-time but the defensive errors kept on coming and Villa could have no complaints with the final score which leaves them with a mountain to climb.

While there was an absence of quality and composure from Villa last Thursday, a shortage of energy seemed to hold them back when they lost 1-0 at Brighton three days later.

The loss to the Seagulls is unlikely to cost Villa fourth place, although they need three more points to make absolutely sure and are far from certain to get them when hosting Liverpool on Monday.

Emery could do with freshening up his side but his options are limited by a worsening injury crisis.

Morgan Rogers suffered a hamstring strain just 25 minutes into the loss to Brighton and his pace and energy were missed as Villa lost the shot count 15-2.

Villa will need to be much more attack-minded in Athens but they are going to leave themselves open to being picked off by a well-drilled team boasting pace to burn on the counter-attack.

Olympiakos played a smart game in the first leg by choosing the right moments to press and forcing their opponents into mistakes.

It is hard to imagine their head coach, Jose Mendilibar,  will make substantial changes to his tactics or personnel but he has a couple of welcome additional options with midfielder Andreas Ndoj and attacker Georgios Masouras back in the mix after one-match bans.

Olympiakos will also have the backing of a passionate home crowd desperate to see their team advance to a final which takes place in the same city later this month.

Mendilibar's men will need to manage the occasion and avoid the temptation to go into protection mode, but they are capable of delivering another strong performance and should finish the job with a bit to spare.

Key stat

Olympiakos have lost only one of their last eight matches

Olympiakos vs Aston Villa team news

Olympiakos
Andreas Ndoj and Georgios Masouras are available after suspensions but Ruben Vezo, Gelson Martins and Nelson Abbey are ineligible.

Aston Villa
Morgan Rogers (hamstring) has joined Boubacar Kamara (knee), Emi Buendia (knee), Tyrone Mings (knee), Jacob Ramsey (foot) on the sidelines and Nicolo Zaniolo (unspecified injury), Emiliano Martinez (thigh) and Youri Tielemans (groin) are doubts.

Probable teams

Olympiakos (4-2-3-1): Tzolakis; Rodinei, Retsos, Carmo, Ortega; Iborra, Hezze; Fortounis, Chiquinho, Podence; El Kaabi.
Subs: Ndoj, Richards, Masouras, Horta, El Arabi, Jovetic, Carvalho, Quini.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Luiz, McGinn; Bailey, Diaby, Moreno; Watkins.
Subs: Diego Carlos, Duran, Lenglet, Iroegbunam, Chambers, Kellyman, Kesler-Hayden, Tielemans.

Inside info

Olympiakos

Star man Ayoub El Kaabi
Top scorer Ayoub El Kaabi
Penalty taker Ayoub El Kaabi
Card magnet Panagiotis Retsos
Assist ace Konstantinos Fortounis
Set-piece aerial threat David Carmo

Aston Villa

Star man Ollie Watkins
Top scorer Ollie Watkins
Penalty taker Douglas Luiz
Card magnet Matty Cash
Assist ace Ollie Watkins
Set-piece aerial threat Pau Torres

Olympiakos vs Aston Villa bet builder predictions

Olympiakos or draw double chance
Olympiakos can avoid defeat and ensure comfortable progress to the final in Athens.

Ayoub El Kaabi to score any time
El Kaabi increased his competition tally to eight with a hat-trick at Villa Park and he can stay on the scoring trail

Matty Cash to be carded
Combative Villa right-back Matty Cash has been booked in two of his last four appearances and looks a strong candidate for another caution.

Pays out at 12-1 with Paddy Power

Grab £40 in BetMGM free bets when you bet on Olympiakos vs Aston Villa

We’ve already mentioned that BetMGM are offering £40 in free bets when you bet on Olympiakos vs Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League.

Here is how you can claim this BetMGM £40 free bet offer when you place a qualifying bet on Olympiakos vs Aston Villa.

• Head over to BetMGM through this link to sign up
• Click the sign-up button and follow the process to fill in your details
• Place a £10 qualifying bet at minimum odds of 2.0 (EVS)
• Once your qualifying bet settles, 4x £10 free bets will be automatically credited to your account
• Note that your 4x £10 free bets apply to different markets, so ensure you read full T&Cs

BetMGM betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new player promotion before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of this BetMGM betting offer and what's expected of you as a new player.

The promotion from BetMGM gives you 4x £10 free bets to place across racing, football and other relevant markets. Some betting tokens are only applicable to certain sports, so it’s worth taking a minute to read through the T&Cs of this offer.

• New customers only
• Customers have seven days to place a qualifying bet to receive 4x Free Bets: 1x £10 Horseracing, 1x £10 bet builder, 1x £10 acca and 1x £10 football
• Seven-day expiry
• Exclusions apply
• Stakes are not returned
• Further T&Cs apply
• 18+. For more info visit www.begambleaware.org

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.