AEK Athens vs. Leicester City – Europa League, October 29, 2020

EPL side Leicester City visits the Greek capital to face AEK Athens on Thursday, October 29, as Matchday 2 of the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League gets underway.

Following a convincing 3-0 victory over Ukrainian outfit Zorya Luhansk on Matchday 1, the Foxes find themselves top of Group G. Meanwhile, AEK lost to Portuguese side Braga by the same scoreline.

Planning to wager on Thursday’s Europa League clash? Make sure you check out my AEK Athens vs. Leicester City prediction and betting pick below.

Having beaten Arsenal at the weekend, Leicester City (1.71) heads into Thursday’s matchup as the leading sportsbooks’ favorite. Given the Foxes’ Premier League quality, I think the price for the away win is pretty attractive.

The bookies aren’t giving AEK Athens (4.30) much of a chance, although the Greek side will be confident of snatching a draw (3.85) on home soil.

It’s fair to say that AEK kicked off their Europa League campaign in disappointing fashion. The Greeks were completely outplayed in Portugal, and considering that Braga registered a total of 22 shots, the scoreline could easily have been a lot bigger than 3-0.

The Yellow & Blacks have struggled to get their domestic campaign off the ground, too. Following back-to-back wins in the opening two games, Massimo Carrera’s men have only managed to win one of their last three outings, leaving them 4^th in the Super League standings.

Granted, AEK has only conceded two goals in five domestic games this term, with goalkeeper Panagiotis Tsintotas keeping an impressive three clean sheets along the way. But if Carrera’s men want to compete on more than one front this season, they will need to start scoring more goals.

Karim Ansarifard is the only player to have netted more than once in 2020/21, so the club’s other forward players must start chipping in soon.

? Super-sub Jamie Vardy = Leicester's hero ?#MondayMotivation | #UEL pic.twitter.com/01gTyOcArz

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) October 26, 2020

On the slip side, Leicester could hardly have dreamed of a better start to their European journey this season. Goals from James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, and Kelechi Iheanacho saw the EPL side cruise to a comfortable victory on Matchday 1, while the defense had very little to do.

The Foxes are also flying in the Premier League. Four wins from their opening six games – including an eye-catching 5-2 thrashing of Manchester City – have left the club sitting just one point behind early frontrunners Everton and Liverpool.

Following a mini blip, Leicester appears to be back on track. Rodgers’ men lost successive games to West Ham and Aston Villa either side of the international break, but they have since secured back-to-back victories.

Jamie Vardy returned from injury to score the winner against the Gunners on Sunday, taking his tally to six goals in five appearances this term. Needless to say, the hosts will need to keep Vardy quiet if they want to avoid defeat on Thursday.

If Braga can beat AEK 3-0, I’m confident that Leicester can get the better of the Yellow & Blacks without any real problems. The Foxes will be full of confidence after claiming an important win over a top-four rival in the EPL, and I can see them carrying their momentum to Greece.