TOTTENHAM travel to Greece on Wednesday evening for their opening Champions League assignment of the season. Daniel McCulloch (@DMcCulloch1984) shares his betting thoughts.
Olympiakos v Tottenham | Tuesday 17th September 2019, 17:55 | BT Sport
Tottenham travel to Greece for their Champions League opener, eager to get off to a better start than they managed last season. The North London side somehow made the final in 2018/19 despite losing their first two matches in the competition.
A trip to face Olympiakos – who finished second in the Greek Super League last season does represent an easier encounter than their opener against Inter in the San Siro a year ago.
I can’t be the only one expecting a tight, niggly game in Piraeus on Wednesday, with Olympiakos’ recent home record in Europe giving their fans much confidence. The Greek side reached the last 32 of the Europa League last season and won four and drew two of their home games during that run.
Those matches included 3-1 victories over Burnley and AC Milan and draws with Real Betis and Dynamo Kyiv. However, I am confident that Tottenham are a class apart from any of those sides. During their run to the final last season, Tottenham won away to Borussia Dortmund and Ajax and also drew with Barcelona.
Therefore, while the atmosphere will be intimidating at the Karaiskakis Stadium, this Tottenham side have won in far more testing environments and at 49/50 with Marathon I want to have them onside.
As stated previously, I do expect it to be a tough test though and also like the look of 3/1 with Redzone on Spurs to win by a single goal. I wouldn’t put anyone off backing either a 1-0 or 2-1 victory to the away side but I will keep it safe and go for a one-goal margin of victory.
Best Bets
Olympiakos v Tottenham – Tottenham to win (49/50 Marathon)
Olympiakos v Tottenham – Tottenham to win by a single goal (3/1 Redzone)
