Olympiacos v Ionikos

Olympiacos didn’t manage to break down a solid Asteras Tripolis defence on Monday and drew 0-0 on the road. The hosts’ game plan worked out perfectly, as they parked the bus and took advantage of Olympiacos’ lack of a finishing touch.

The reigning Super League champions have struggled in the final third due to Youssef El-Arabi’s drop in form. Their top scorer in the previous three seasons missed some huge chances to break the deadlock, having now gone five official games without finding the back of the net.

However, not everything is bad for the Piraeus-based side, as they have managed to solidify their defence – at least in Greek league games. Olympiacos haven’t conceded in their first two games of the season against Giannina and Asteras Tripolis. Yet, what is more impressive is that their two rivals had just three shots on goal in total. The centre-back duo of Ousseynou Ba and Pape Abou Cissé has improved drastically, while Olympiacos are almost always in control of their games against weaker sides in Greece, which means that lowly rivals barely threaten their defence.

As for Ionikos, they haven’t had the best start to the season. Having impressed last term as a newly-promoted side, Ionikos have yet to rediscover their form. They have been quite solid in defence, conceding just one goal in two games, but they have yet to find the back of the net.

In their Greek Super League opener, Ionikos registered just one shot on target away from league leaders Panathinaikos and they should be expected to have similar numbers against Olympiacos. The hosts need this win as they have already dropped points at Tripoli and they will score at least one goal after failing to net in their previous duel. However, we can’t say the same for an unconvincing Ionikos side, who will struggle to create an attack against the Greek champions.