On Wednesday night, Istanbul Basaksehir and Olympiakos go head-to-head in the first leg of the third round qualifying round of the Champions League.
These two teams have contrasting experiences in the Champions League. The home side has played just four games in the competition, having a mixed record. In fact, Istanbul Basaksehir could not have a more mixed record in the Champions League, having won one, lost one and drawn two of their four games in the competition.
The home sides games in the Champions League have been high scoring, as three of their last four matches have produced over 2.5 goals. A big factor in those high-scoring clashes has been that the Turkish side has scored twice in three of those four European games.
View this post on Instagram Η αποστολή της ομάδας μας για το ματς κόντρα στην Μπασακσεχίρ. / The squad players selected ahead of the match against @ibfk2014. 🔴⚪️⚽️ #olympiacos #UCL #IBFKOLY #squadlist @championsleague A post shared by Olympiacos FC (@olympiacosfc) on Aug 5, 2019 at 11:35am PDT
Η αποστολή της ομάδας μας για το ματς κόντρα στην Μπασακσεχίρ. / The squad players selected ahead of the match against @ibfk2014. 🔴⚪️⚽️ #olympiacos #UCL #IBFKOLY #squadlist @championsleague
A post shared by Olympiacos FC (@olympiacosfc) on Aug 5, 2019 at 11:35am PDT
In contrast to their hosts, Olympiakos have been regulars in the Champions League in recent years. Last season was one of the few campaigns that the Greek side has not featured in the Champions League in the last few decades.
They have a poor recent record in the competition, winning just once in eight games in Europe’s elite competition.
They defeated Viktoria Plzen 4-0 on aggregate in the second qualifying round. A 4-0 victory in the second leg of the Plzen tie ended a seven-game run in the competition without a win for the Greek side.
Their latest experience in the competition came back in 2017 when they made the group stages. However, they experienced a difficult campaign picking up a solitary one point from a group involving Barcelona, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon.
Olympiakos have struggled on their travels in the Champions League of late failing to win in four away games, suffering three defeats in the process.
On paper, there is not much between these two teams. Therefore, Forebet’s prediction of a low-scoring draw is not that surprising.