Olympiakos V Liverpool - Stan James Analysis

The momentum is definitely with Liverpool in this one. They have already cut Monaco down to size at Anfield and they had a nice little win against Norwich on the weekend, so they should be going into the game with their tails up. The Greeks have only just started their domestic league and had a spluttering draw against Deportivo last time. It’s not lost on the compilers and Liverpool are priced up with Stan James at 6/4, The Draw is 2/1, and Olympiakos are 13/8.

It’s a difficult one to call though. This will be no cakewalk for the Reds. Olympiakos have the Brazilian duo of Giovanni and Rivaldo in their side, and if these two are on song, Liverpool had better watch out. The only problem is will they? Rivaldo seems past his best, and you can’t help but feel that he has been looking for his final gravy train…(makes Van Hooijdonk look like a Salvation Army helper….), but on his day he can provide the magic to silence his critics. He’s 15/8 anytime and 7’s first and last. The same prices as Giovanni. The Greeks will also rely on a passionate crowd to get them going, and will not make life easy for Liverpool.

So Benitez will have to get his tactics right. He’ll probably play five across the midfield and just leave either Baros or Cisse up front. If he had Gerrard and Kewell at his disposal he might have opted to play both strikers but the sensible call will be to flood midfield, and work at stifling the Greeks. There is a lot of experience in the Liverpool side, so they won’t be overawed, and they could put in a good performance tonight. A win will be a massive step for them, but the draw is more likely. A host of markets on the game are available at www.stanjames.com