ATHENS // Arsenal will put one of the best Uefa Champions League records on the line when they face Olympiakos for second spot in Group F on Wednesday night.
As well as competing in the tournament for the 18th successive season, they have qualified for the second stage in each of the past 15 campaigns.
That run is in jeopardy, not so much due to a 5-1 hammering at group winners Bayern Munich but because Arsenal were beaten in their opening two games, including a shock 3-2 defeat at home to Olympiakos.
Now they must reverse that scoreline or improve on it to preserve their proud record under Arsene Wenger who will be missing seven players including Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere.
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Wenger was particularly pleased with Saturday’s 3-1 win at home to Sunderland, a victory that lifted Arsenal to second place in the Premier League.
“For our confidence it was vital,” the French coach said. “I was very nervous because I knew it was a very important game for our season.
“It is better to prepare for the game knowing we have won. The one positive thing is we know exactly what to do.
“Most of the time when we have been to Olympiakos we have not had a lot to do because we had already qualified. This time it is the opposite,” Wenger added.
It is Arsenal’s fourth visit in seven seasons and each time the game has come on Matchday 6.
For Olympiakos the match is being billed by local media as a defining moment in a breakthrough year for Portuguese manager Marco Silva.
The 38-year-old Portuguese manager has led the Greeks to 12 successive Super League victories since the season kicked off as they chase several club records. Silva has also won widespread praise for the European performances.
Greece midfielder Kostas Fortounis, an outstanding player for Olympiakos this season, is relishing the game with Arsenal.
“This is a showdown, no doubt about it,” he said, looking ahead to the Arsenal match, after the 4-3 win at Panthrakikos at the weekend, a result that gave them a 10-point lead at the top of the Super League.
Olympiakos are relatively injury-free but Silva must decide whether to include fit-again Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso in place of Luka Milivojevic or Pajtim Kasami. Brown Ideye will return into the attack after being rested at the weekend.
Winning again is a matter of time, says Nainggolan
Embattled Roma’s “desire and determination” will be key when they host BATE Borisov in a Uefa Champions League clash on Wednesday night in a tight Group E, according Radja Nainggolan.
Roma host the Belarusian champions looking to book their ticket for the knockout phase for the first time since being outclassed 6-2 on aggregate by Shakhtar Donetsk in 2011.
Yet, two weeks after a 6-1 drubbing by champions Barcelona left them second in Group E on the same number of points as third-placed Bayer Leverkusen, with BATE only a point further behind, Roma remain stuck in crisis mode.
Roma’s Camp Nou calamity was followed by a 2-0 home defeat to Atalanta in Serie A and Rudi Garcia’s men dropped more points in a 1-1 draw away to Torino on Saturday.
Although still in title contention at five points behind Inter Milan, the pressure is building on Roma’s French coach Garcia to come good having seen his side slip several times in this group campaign.
But Belgian international Nainggolan, one of Roma’s key midfield components, has given Garcia his backing.
“We have plenty of belief, we’re a strong group and we’re just waiting to get back to winning ways,” Nainggolan said after Saturday’s draw in Turin.
“We showed lots of desire and that’s the first thing you need to get results. Good football comes after that.
“We have a Champions League match to prepare for on Wednesday, which will be tough, just as today’s game was.
“We have to approach it with the same desire and determination. We know we have to win to go through, so we’ll knuckle down and try to secure the points against BATE.”
A win would be the first of any kind for Roma since they beat Lazio 2-0 in the city derby at the beginning of last month, but the fact Group E is wide open will not make the task any easier: all three clubs sitting behind Barcelona can still snatch the second remaining spot.
While Roma would also qualify if they draw and Leverkusen fail to beat Barcelona, a Leverkusen win coupled with a Roma draw or defeat would see the Bundesliga side advance.
If BATE beat Roma for the second time in this campaign and Leverkusen do not win in Germany, the Belarusians will advance to the knockout stage for the first time.
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