Rubin Kazan v Olympiacos: Tight affair as Greeks head to Russia

Rubin Kazan were impressive in qualifying from Group A ahead of Tottenham in the early stages of the Europa League, but it will be a tough ask for them to justify their 1/1 price to beat Olympiacos in the first leg of their round of 32 meeting.

The Russian side has never triumphed over a Greek side in European competition, and while they will be fired up to make history, they will face as difficult a task as any in the form of an Olympiacos side unlucky to be eliminated from the Champions League.

It’s 3/1 about an away win, though Rubin did manage to avoid defeat in each of their three home games during the group stage, winning on two occasions and drawing once.

Olympiacos’s visit does however seem that it is likely to extend Rubin’s run of draws with Greek sides.

In four clashes with Greek opposition, four draws have resulted for Rubin, and punters should lap up the 9/4 on offer in the Europa League odds for a stalemate here.

While Rubin progressed as runners-up from Group A in the Europa League, Olympiacos could count themselves extremely unlucky to miss out on progression in the Champions League, where they won three of their last four games, including a triumph over Arsenal.

The defensive nature of the Greek outfit’s formation, particularly away from home, means they don’t concede many goals, and so the 8/1 on offer for a 0-0 draw could interest some punters.

A score draw would be the more preferable option for the travellers however, who would love to take an away goal into the second leg, and the 5/1 for a 1-1 draw also looks an interesting proposition.

It is 4/1 that the sides are level at both half-time and full-time, while the massive 14/1 price for Rubin to be leading at half-time and the draw at full-time should see plenty of interest.