Champions League

B04 Leverkusen Bayer Leverkusen - PIR Olympiacos Olympiacos

Leverkusen Bayer Leverkusen

Olympiacos Olympiacos

BayArena

Michael Oliver

Typical of García

As has happened for the majority of the season, most of Leverkusen's play is going through García in the midfield, who is dictating the start of every attack for Die Werkself.

32'

Punched clear

After Andrich is penalised for a foul on Taremi, Mouzakitis delivers the resultant free-kick from the right half-space. His delivery leaves something to be desired, however, as he puts it too close to Blaswich, who comes off his line fist it away.

28'

Unable to profit

Leverkusen take a risk and try to play out from the back under pressure. García's pass is too short and pounced upon by an opposition player, who shifts it on for Martins. The winger would have had a real opportunity, but his touch let him down and Leverkusen are let off for what could've been a costly error.

26'

No way through

Andrich tries to pick out Hofmann on the edge of the visitors' box with a pass between the lines, but it's read and intercepted by Olympiacos.

Midfield contest

Much of the play inside the opening 20 minutes has taken place in the midfield, with neither side able to dominate possession as of yet.

17'

Whipped in

García delivers a free-kick from around 45 yards from goal near the right touchline. It's aimed towards Schick at the far post, but the Spaniard overhits his delivery.

15'

Composed

Martins looks to cross towards Chiquinho from the right, but Vázquez is there to coolly control the ball down for Blaswich with his chest whilst under pressure.

10'

In the nick of time

García threads Schick in behind Olympiacos' defence. The Czech striker looks to pick out Grimaldo with a delicate set back, but an opposition defender recovers excellently to clear it behind for a corner. Leverkusen don't manage to make anything of the set-piece.

Unique routine

With their first corner of the game, Chiquinho is picked out on the edge of the box. Unmarked, he bends an effort goalwards, but it's always rising over the bar.

Golden chance for the lead!

Schick makes a great run in behind the visitors' defence and is found with a long ball over the top. Tzolakis rushes off his line, but Schick gets there first to lob the onrushing keeper. However, he just gets the finish wrong and the ball goes agonisingly wide of the mark.

First corner

Leverkusen take it short. It's worked to Grimaldo, who whips a teasing cross in from the right. Schick gets his head to it, but can only guide the ball wide of the left post.

Sneaking in

Grimaldo finds Vázquez high up on the right flank with a fantastic switch of play. The Spaniard tees up Hofmann on the edge of the box, who aims a powerful effort towards the near post, but his effort is beaten behind for a corner by Tzolakis.

Offside

The visitors look to cross again, this time from deep on the right flank. Gelson Martins is picked out at the far post, but is deemed to be in an offside position.

Intricate

Olympiacos have started brightly. A good team move releases Chiquinho down the left flank, but his attempted cross is blocked by Quansah.

And we're off!

It's the visitors from Greece who get the ball rolling for this second leg play-off at the BayArena.

Kick-off!

Anthem underway

The famous Champions League anthem rings out around the BayArena as kick-off draws near...

The boss is here

Kasper Hjulmand has inspected the pitch ahead of kick-off.

More on that Olympiacos team

Olympiacos make two changes from the starting XI they fielded for first leg. José Luis Mendilibar replaces winger Daniel Podence and Ayoub El Kaabi with Chiquinho (pictured, r.) and Dani García.

Caution required ahead

Midfielder Aleix García (pictured), who is among the starters, and forward Christian Kofane, who takes his place on the bench today, are each a yellow card away from incurring a one-game suspension.

More on that Leverkusen side

Kasper Hjulmand makes four changes to the line-up he fielded for Leverkusen's 1-0 league defeat away to Union Berlin on Saturday. Jarell Quansah, Exequiel Palacios, Jonas Hofmann (pictured) and Patrik Schick all get the nod, replacing Loïc Badé (thigh) and Malik Tillman (ankle), who are injured, and Arthur and Ezequiel Fernández, who drop to the bench. Compared to the first leg, Hofmann for Ernest Poku on the right wing is the only change.

Starting line-up: Olympiacos FC

Konstantinos Tzolakis

Olympiacos subs

Paschalakis, Botis, Biancone, Kalogeropoulos, Nascimento, El Kaabi, Scipioni, Luiz, Clayton, Costinha, Liatsikouras, Onyemaechi

Starting line-up: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Leverkusen subs

Omlin, Lomb, Fernández, Arthur, Oermann, Tape, Poku, Kofane, Culbreath

Mr. Dependable

Alejandro Grimaldo has featured in every UEFA Champions League game so far this term, providing four goals and two assists, including a trademark free-kick strike in a 2-2 draw in Copenhagen.

Leverkusen's midfield metronome

Only Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha has completed more passes than Leverkusen's Aleix García (658) in this season's competition. The Spaniard has a 91.7 percent accuracy and has scored two goals, both against PSG.

José Luis Mendilibar on facing Leverkusen

"We need to have the courage to play our own game, to be aggressive and to win the ball at the right time to have more possession of the ball compared to the two previous games. We need to have better possession of the ball to play a better game."

Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich on Olympiacos' set-piece prowess

"Set-pieces are dangerous when the incoming balls are good and there are big players who are good in the air. That could be the case with Olympiacos. But we're prepared for that, we also have players of that calibre."

Kasper Hjulmand on facing Olympiacos

"It's a good position to be in and a good result, but also a dangerous one - if you take it too lightly. We're taking the game very seriously; it's not over yet. We'll need to be at our best against a great opponent. But even the win in the first leg doesn't change the fact we're approaching the game as we normally do: We want to be proactive and win."

Looking ahead

Should Leverkusen successfully navigate the second leg, a draw on Friday would determine whether they play Bayern Munich (who knocked them out of the Champions League last season) or Arsenal in the last 16.

Decent omens

There have been 191 instances of a team winning a UEFA Champions League or European Cup away first leg by two goals or more (as Leverkusen did in Greece last week), and only twice has that team been knocked out in the return leg at home...

0:27

Watch: Leverkusen's best goals of the season so far

Early Olympiacos team news

Striker Angelakis and defender Bakoulas remain unavailable due to ligament injuries, while Yazıcı, who scored at the weekend, is not in the Champions League squad along with defender Rúben Vezo. Winger Gelson Martins, who was rested against Panetolikos last time out, is expected to come back into the side.

Early Leverkusen team news

Ben Seghir (ankle), Flekken (knee) and Tella (foot) were all absent last time out against Union Berlin, with Badé (muscular) and Tillman (ankle) joining the injury list - although the latter has hopes of recovering in time for the clash. The likes of Quansah, Schick and Poku are likely to return to the starting XI after being rested at the weekend.

Olympiacos - last time out

The Greek side come into this week's UCL clash on the back of a 2-0 league home win against Panetolikos. Pirola (pictured) and Yazıcı were on the scoresheet to ensure Olympiacos remain top of the Super League by a single point.

2:03

Watch: Union Berlin 1-0 Leverkusen

Bayer suffered their first league defeat in over a month in the German capital on Saturday.

Getting the job done

Leverkusen have won six of their last eight two-legged knockout ties in European competition. They have also been beaten just twice in 18 games at the BayArena in continental tournaments, putting them in a strong position to progress to the last 16 here.

Andrich: "You have to be patient"

Leverkusen captain Andrich, meanwhile, said: "The game played a bit like games can in a heated stadium. You have to be patient, you have to defend well. We did that very well for long stretches. And that's the first step."

Hjulmand happy but wary

After the full-time whistle at Olympiacos, Hjulmand said: "We had great chances in the first half; I had a sense of déjà vu from last time [when we lost 2-0]. After the first goal, we were in control and played quite well. But that was only half-time in the tie, and it's not over yet; we still have to play a good game."

Leverkusen on top

The Werkself welcome Olympiacos to their home ground in control of the tie at the halfway point. Patrik Schick was the hero in Greece in the first leg, scoring twice as Kasper Hjulmand's side secured a 2-0 victory.

Hello and welcome!

Follow all of the build-up and live action as Bayer Leverkusen welcome Olympiacos to the BayArena for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off tie.