Champions League

PIR Olympiacos Olympiacos FC - B04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen

PIR Olympiacos Olympiacos FC

B04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Tue, 20.01.202620:00 PM

Georgios Karaiskakis

Kasper Hjulmand on facing Olympiacos

"It will be a tight match, but we're here to make it happen. We need a better performance, we're being completely honest with ourselves. We have to play with everything we've got."

Retsos reunion

Leverkusen will come up against former player Panagiotis Retsos, who is now the captain of the Greek outfit. The defender made 43 appearances for the club between 2017 and 2021, scoring one goal.

Retsos recalls Leverkusen stint

"I have only good memories of that time [at Leverkusen]. The stadium is fantastic, and the club has a clear vision for the future. And that's exactly what I experienced during my time at Bayer. I was very happy in Leverkusen."

... on facing his former club

"We must focus on our main goal, which is to win. Nothing can hold us back, and we must not be afraid. We must be determined, knowing that we have two games to play and win. That will undoubtedly put some pressure on us, but it could also be useful. We usually react well to pressure, and I hope that we will manage to get those two victories when the time comes. We have the quality."

Early Leverkusen team news

The Werkself suffered a couple of injury blows during their 1-0 loss to Hoffenheim at the weekend, with Mark Flekken and Nathan Tella both forced off - the duo will be unavailable for this encounter as a result. Elsewhere, Exequiel Palacios, Axel Tape and Edmond Tapsoba are all unavailable. Eliesse Ben Seghir is now back in contention once more after the Africa Cup of Nations has come to an end, although an injury - apparently nothing too serious - kept him out of the final for Morocco in their defeat to Senegal.

Probable Olympiacos XI

Tzolakis - Rodinei, Biancone, Retsos (c), Ortega - Hezze, Mouzakitis - Martins, Chiquinho, Podence - Taremi

Probable Leverkusen XI

Blaswich - Quansah, Andrich (c), Badé - Arthur, García, Fernández, Grimaldo - Tillman, Poku - Schick

Good omens

Leverkusen have only lost three of their last 22 UEFA competition group stage/league phase matches (W13 D6). Kasper Hjulmand's side are also unbeaten away from home in this season's competition, drawing 2-2 against Copenhagen before picking up wins at Benfica (1-0) and Manchester City (2-0), keeping back-to-back clean sheets.

4:32

Watch: Grimaldo - Leverkusen's beating heart

The Spaniard, who has struck in Leverkusen's last two Champions League games, against Manchester City and Newcastle United, has been influential under Kasper Hjulmand.

Leverkusen's good form against Greek sides

Die Werkself are unbeaten (W2, D1) in their last three against Greek sides and have kept a clean sheet in each game.

Germany woes for Olympiacos

The Greek side haven't won in their last 13 encounters with German opposition, losing 12 of those. Their last win against German opposition came against Dortmund in October 2011.

0:59

Watch: Leverkusen lose ground on top four

Wouter Burger scored the only goal of the game as Hoffenheim beat Leverkusen 1-0 to solidify their position in the top four.

Head-to-head

The two sides have only met twice in UEFA competitions, and that was during the group stage of the 2002/03 Champions League. Olympiacos won the match in Greece 6-2, but Leverkusen won in Germany 2-0.

Leverkusen - the story so far

Die Werkself find themselves in a slightly precarious position with two games remaining. They have only lost one of their six games, but have drawn three, meaning they sit 20th with nine points. Currently, they will qualify for the playoff round, but if they struggle in their two remaining fixtures, then that is not guaranteed. Equally, wins in the final two games could still allow Leverkusen to make a late charge for automatic qualification for the Round of 16.

Olympiacos - the story so far

With two draws and three defeats in their opening five matchdays, the Greek champions picked up their first Champions League win of the season against Kairat Almaty (1-0) on Matchday 6 to move within two points of 24th, which would secure them a place in the play-off for the knockout stages.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of the UEFA Champions League fixture between Olympiacos and Bayer Leverkusen.