Atletico Madrid were surprise losers on opening night in Greece but I’ll be amazed if lightning strikes twice in the Spanish capital on Wednesday.
The 2014 Champions League runners-up were beaten 3-2 by Olympiakos on match day 1 but it is three consecutive wins in this competition since, all without conceding a goal.
Diego Simeone’s side remain just four points off the top of the La Liga standings and still harbour very realistic ambitions of defending the crown they won so famously in the spring.
Atletico will be keen to go one better in this too and Champions League success is not beyond such a talented, hard working group of players.
Simeone saw his team concede twice in the opening 30 minutes in the corresponding fixture in September but they are usually so defensively sound and their home form is terrific.
Only Real Madrid have triumphed at the Vicente Calderon since May 2013, a run stretching to some 41 fixtures, and visiting sides often draw a blank.
Atletico have managed to keep an impressive 25 clean sheets in that period and at the other end have found the ideal replacement for the now departed Diego Costa.
While Costa is flourishing at Chelsea, Mario Mandzukic has hit the ground running in Spain and it is four goals in six outings for the big Croatian, a 22 million Euro summer signing from Bayern Munich.
Olympiakos arrive on the back of a 5-1 thrashing of Panthrakikos but that was their first success in four outings and the gulf in class between the pair is enormous.
At 2/5 in the Match Odds market I think plenty of big hitters might get involved in the hosts, who look overpriced, but naturally I want to back them at odds against.
That can be done on the Asian Handicap with Atletico giving up 1.5 goals and I am not put off by Wednesday’s travellers having already won against Juventus this season, too. Their form on the road against Europe’s finest remains wretched.
2pts Back Atletico Madrid (-1.5, vs. Olympiakos) @ 22/19 (Bet Victor)