West Ham vs Olympiacos predictions: Hammers can respond with thrilling win
- West Ham lost four of their last five in all competitions
- Olympiacos have conceded in four of their last five in all competitions
- Recommended bet: West Ham to win and over 3.5 goals
West Ham's season is in danger of going off course but the good news is that their European commitments mean they have regular chances to put things right.
They face the side who ended their 17-game unbeaten European run on Thursday as Olympiacos head to the London Stadium.
That defeat was one of four in their last five in all competitions, and David Moyes will be desperate for a result as his team look to build momentum heading into the Premier League visit of Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The Hammers lost 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday but Olympiacos also had a tough weekend, crashing 4-2 at home to PAOK.
With a competitive Freiburg side also in Group A, these two will see Thursday's clash as paramount to their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds of this competition and their respective recent records hint that there could be plenty of entertainment.
Olympiacos' 2-1 win in the reverse match will give them confidence but West Ham won their last home match 3-1 against Arsenal and will again be looking to their home crowd to help them through.
Team news
Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta are back available for West Ham after sitting out Saturday's defeat at Brentford through suspension.
Kurt Zouma may also be ready to return after missing out against the Bees through a muscle injury. However, Moyes may choose not to risk him and Konstantinos Mavropanos could to stay in the side before making way for Sunday's visit of Forest.
Lukasz Fabianski is set to start in goal ahead of Alphonse Areola, while Pablo Fornals is another who could come in.
Olympiacos have a doubt over defender Omar Richards but otherwise have a clean bill of health, with Andreas Ntoi available after missing the reverse game through suspension.
The stats
West Ham's defeat in Piraeus ended their 17-game unbeaten streak in Europe and marked Olympiacos' first victory in Group A.
The Hammers have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last seven matches in all competitions.
Olympiacos have also conceded in four of their last five in all competitions.
Home midfielder James Ward-Prowse has provided the joint-second-highest number of assists in this competition with three, while Paqueta and Mahomed Kudus have both netted twice for West Ham in the Europa League.
Olympiacos' Ayoub El Kaabi has also netted twice in the group stages of this competition after also scoring a double in the qualifying rounds against Cukaricki.
Prediction
A look at the pair's recent records hints that goals could be on the agenda. Both teams have scored in all of West Ham and Olympiacos' Group A games combined.
Defensive issues plague both and each have the attacking talent to exploit the apparent weaknesses of their opponents.
Over 3.5 goals were scored in West Ham's sole home game in this competition, a 3-1 win over TSC, while the same can be said for Olympiacos' sole away trip in the group stages, a 2-2 draw against the same opponents.
A repeat 3-1 home win is available at 3/1 but it might instead be safer to take West Ham's home record into account.
They went unbeaten at the London Stadium on their way to winning last year's Europa Conference League and can feed off their home crowd, as they did in last week's Carabao Cup win over Arsenal.
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