Olympiacos and Sporting CP find winning start
Olympiacos FC and Sporting Clube de Portugal will both know a significance of a winning start as they accommodate for a initial time in a opening turn of Group D fixtures.
• With FC Barcelona and Juventus also in a section, 3 points for possibly side in Piraeus will give them some early procedure forward of those tough fixtures to come.
Match background
Olympiacos
• Olympiacos are in a organisation theatre for an 18th time. They lost to Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC in final season’s third subordinate round, a initial time they had missed out on a UEFA Champions League organisation theatre given 2010/11.
• In 2016/17, a Greek side went on to strech a UEFA Europa League turn of 16, falling 5-2 on total to Beşiktaş JK.
• The Piraeus bar warranted a place in this season’s subordinate rounds by winning their 44th Greek championship in 2016/17 – their seventh in a row.
• Olympiacos non-stop this deteriorate with a 5-3 total success opposite FK Partizan in a third subordinate turn (3-1 away, 2-2 home). They afterwards got a improved of HNK Rijeka in a play-off round, entrance by 2-1 during home and 1-0 away.
• That home feat opposite a Croatian bar was Olympiacos’s initial in 5 European home matches, finale a run of 4 unbroken draws on their possess ground.
• Beaten 1-0 by SL Benfica in a 1973/74 European Cup initial turn second leg – their initial revisit from a Portuguese team, that reliable a 2-0 total better – Olympiacos have won all 7 successive games opposite Liga visitors. Their many new was a 2-1 home feat over FC Arouca in final season’s UEFA Europa League play-off second leg, completing a 3-1 total triumph.
Sporting CP
• Sporting are in a organisation theatre for a third time in 4 years. In 2016/17, they came fourth in their organisation behind Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid CF and Legia Warszawa.
• Sporting competent by finishing third in a Portuguese Liga in 2016/17.
• The Portuguese side were 5-1 total winners opposite Romania’s FCSB in a play-offs, following adult a 0-0 home draw with a 5-1 success in Bucharest.
• That win in Romania finished Sporting’s four-game losing strain in European divided matches, and was usually their second feat in their final 23 European divided fixtures (D5 L16).
• The Lisbon bar mislaid all 3 divided games in final autumn’s UEFA Champions League organisation stage, fluctuating their losing run in a foe correct divided from home to five. Their final success outward Portugal came with a 1-0 feat during FC Basel 1893 on 9 Dec 2008; their record given is D1 L6.
• Sporting’s usually knowledge of Greek antithesis was a 4-1 home win opposite Panionios GSS in a 2004/05 UEFA Cup organisation stage.
Coach and actor links
• André Martins sealed for Sporting in 2002, fasten a Under-13 squad. He done his comparison entrance in 2011 and went on to assemble some-more than 100 appearances before relocating to Olympiacos in summer 2016.
• Has played in Greece:
André Pinto (Panathinaikos FC, 2012/13)
• Have played in Portugal:
Diogo Figueiras (CD Pinhalnovense 2010/11, Paços Ferreira, 2011–13, Moreirense FC 2012)
Sebá (FC Porto 2012/13, GD Estoril Praia 2013–15)
Felipe Pardo (SC Braga 2013–15)
Mehdi Carcela-González (SL Benfica, 2015/16)
• Pardo faced Sporting 5 times while during Braga, losing 4 and also tasting better in a final as Sporting mislaid a 2015 Portugual Cup final on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
• Have played together:
Sebá Bruno César (Estoril, 2015)
Felipe Pardo André Pinto (Braga, 2014–15)
Rodrigo Battaglia André Pinto (Braga, 2013/14)
Stefano Kapino André Pinto (Panathinaikos, 2012/13)
Jagoš Vuković Radosav Petrović (Serbia)