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Post Last Edit by atai at 29-9-2009 09:45
Champions League Preview: Arsenal - Olympiakos
Tuesday, September 29,
Kick-off: 19:45 BST(12.30 kot)
Emirates Stadium, London N5
Matchday 2 in Group H sees the two winners on matchday 1 go head to head at the Emirates in what will be the first-ever meeting between Arsenal and Olympiakos.
The Gunners finished fourth in the English Premier League last season, and qualified for their 12th consecutive Champions League group stage campaign by defeating Celtic 5-1 on aggregate in the play-off round. They then kicked off their group program in Belgium, bouncing back from conceding two goals in the first five minutes to beat Standard Liege 3-2 thanks to goals from Nicklas Bendtner, Thomas Vermaelen and Eduardo. 
Olympiakos, who were Greek double winners last season for the second term in a row, and have been crowned champions of the Greek League every season since 1996-97 bar one (2003-04, coincidentally the last time Arsenal won the English title), had to get through four qualifying matches to take their place in Group H. The club from Piraeus - the port of Athens - beat Slovan Bratislava 2-0 at home and 2-0 away in the third qualifying round, before overcoming FC Sheriff 3-0 on aggregate in the play-offs. That set them up for their opening group game, which they won 1-0 against Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar at the Karaiskakis Stadium, Vassilis Torosidis netting the 79th minute winner.
Domestically, both Arsenal and Olympiakos go into this game on the back of a decent run of form. The Gunners have won eight of their ten games this season, recovering from two consecutive defeats in Manchester to string four straight victories together, including Saturday's 1-0 win at Fulham when young Italian goalkeeper Vito Mannone kept them in it with a string of outstanding saves before Robin van Persie scored the decisive goal from an astute Cesc Fabregas pass.
The Greek Red-Whites are unbeaten so far this season, having not only won each of their five European encounters without conceding a goal, but have also won four and drawn one of their Greek League games to date. They beat AEK Athens 2-1 last midweek, with two strikes by Torosidis, then triumphed 1-0 against Panionios at the weekend, when Jaouad Zairi scored the only goal after 17 minutes. Despite that record, Olympiakos sacked coach Temuri Ketsbaia only three months into the job in the wake of that one draw - a goalless affair at home to newly-promoted Kavala - and a humiliating 5-0 defeat in a friendly against Ergotelis.
They replaced Ketsbaia with Brazilian legend Zico, a change which has seen a tactical shift in emphasis away from strong defence to a more attack-minded approach. Following their victory over AZ, there is confidence in Piraeus that Olympiakos could qualify with Arsenal, whom they consider to be group favorites - as long as they take advantage of their home games.
There has been no question of any managerial changes at Arsenal, where Arsene Wenger continues to enjoy the full backing of the board despite Arsenal's absence from the honors list since their FA Cup triumph in 2005. Indeed, the announcement of record profits by the London club during the year to end-May prompted Wenger to say that success off the field is as important an aspect of his job as success on it. There is also, of course, the feeling that Wenger's young team could be capable of turning their undoubted potential into silverware this season.
FORM GUIDE
Arsenal
26 Sept (Premier League) v Fulham (A) WON 1-0
22 Sept (League Cup) v West Bromwich Albion (H) WON 2-0
19 Sept (Premier League) v Wigan Athletic (H) WON 4-0
16 Sept (Champions League) v Standard Liege (A) WON 3-2
12 Sept (Premier League) v Manchester City (A) LOST 2-4
Olympiakos
26 Sept (League) v Panionios (H) WON 1-0
23 Sept (League) v AEK Athens (A) WON 2-1
20 Sept (League) v PAOK (A) WON 2-1
16 Sept (Champions League) v AZ (H) WON 1-0
12 Sept (League) v Kavala (H) DREW 0-0
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal
Wenger will be without midfielder Denilson , whose back problem has been diagnosed as a fracture that will keep him out of action for a further two months, while striker Nicklas Bendtner will be unavailable following a minor car crash on Sunday.
Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is not expected to have recovered fully from a chest virus, so Vito Mannone should continue between the sticks. Samir Nasri is still recuperating from a broken leg, but Theo Walcott has recovered from a back injury and could feature, possibly by coming off the bench.
Last starting XI (v Fulham): Mannone; Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy; Song, Diaby, Fabregas; Bendtner, Arshavin (Rosicky 69), Van Persie (Eboue 84).
Squad: Mannone, Clichy, Gallas, Vermaelen, Sagna, Song, Diaby, Fabregas, Arshavin, Eduardo, Van Persie, Szczesny, Rosicky, Eboue, Silvestre, Ramsey, Gibbs, Wilshere, Vela, Watt, Walcott.
Olympiakos
Zico will be missing attacking midfielder Luciano Galletti and English striker Matt Derbyshire , formerly of Blackburn Rovers; both are nursing injuries.
Last starting XI (v Panionios): Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, Mellberg, Avraam Papadopoulos, Raul Bravo, Zairi (Stoltidis 75), Dudu, Ledesma, Leonardo (Oscar Gonzalez 88), Diogo, Torosidis (Mitroglou 81).
Squad: Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, Mellberg, Avraam Papadopoulos, Raul Bravo, Zairi, Dudu, Ledesma, Leonardo, Diogo, Torosidis, Stoltidis, Oscar Gonzalez, Mitroglou, Panagopoulos, Pardo, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Domi, Galitsios, Maresca, Giannis Papadopoulos.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal
Arsenal were unable to deploy Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin in their Champions League campaign last season because he was cup-tied and his virtuosity may have served them well in the semi-final clashes against Manchester United, when the Gunners' lack of experience was exposed. Arshavin will be looking to make up for lost time this season and, having returned from injury at the weekend, he should be in the starting XI to face Olympiakos. He was fairly subdued against Fulham, but Wenger and the Arsenal fans will be hoping he can produce some magic with a dash of the unexpected on the European stage, having dazzled for Zenit St Petersburg when they won the UEFA Cup in 2008.
The star of Arsenal's season thus far has been Thomas Vermaelen , their summer signing from Ajax, who has fitted smoothly into the back four and added a new attacking dimension too, leading the Gunners' scoring charts with four goals. He netted against Standard Liege on matchday 1, but will probably be just as concerned with keeping a clean sheet on Tuesday night.
Olympiakos
Versatile Greek international Vassilis Torosidis, a hard-tackling full-back who can also play as a wing-back or in midfield, has been man of the match for Olympiakos in almost all their games this season. He is currently enjoying the best phase of his career, having overcome the persistent injuries that plagued him last season and during the summer. Renowned for his physical strength, endurance and technique, he has become an important member of Greece's national team since joining Olympiakos, and is a transfer target for such clubs as Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Monaco, Rangers and Newcastle United. The feeling is that that Olympiakos might consider selling Toprosidis at the right price, but before then he could well make life difficult for Arsenal.
In central defence, Swedish star Olof Mellberg has the distinction of being the first player to score a competitive goal at the Emirates, netting Aston Villa's goal - the opener - in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal on the first day of the 2006-07 season. Well known to English audiences from his spell at Villa, he will be keen to make an impression on his return to England. |
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Post time 28-9-2009 06:10 PM
