Olympiacos FC coach Míchel is confident his team can rediscover their A game when they welcome Juventus on matchday three as Group A approaches the tipping point.
• Míchel says Olympiacos can raise their game against Europe’s elite
• Massimiliano Allegri warns Juventus they cannot afford any slip-ups
• All three teams in Group A have won one and lost one so far
• Tickets for Wednesday’s match were sold out on the day they were released
• Juve’s 13-game Serie A winning streak ended at the weekend
Possible lineups
Olympiacos: Roberto; Elabdellaoui, Botía, Abidal, Masuaku; Maniatis, Milivojević, Kasami; Domínguez, Afellay, Mitroglou.
• Out: none
• Doubtful: Jorge Benítez (thigh), Siovas (thigh)
Juventus: Buffon; Ogbonna, Bonucci, Chiellini; Asamoah, Pogba, Marchisio, Vidal, Lichsteiner; Morata, Tévez.
• Out: Cáceres (thigh), Barzagli (ankle), Rômulo (groin), Marrone (thigh)
• Doubtful: Llorente (back)
Míchel, Olympiacos coach
We know how to put on a good performance at this level as we have already proved – the match against Atlético, and also last season. Against Malmö, I thought we played very well, but we lost because of our own mistakes. We have to decide tomorrow whether we are going to reach the level we know we can attain.
[Massimiliano] Allegri’s Juve and [Antonio] Conte’s Juve are different teams, but both are powerful. Who knows whether the game will be open or not. No one expected us to score three against Atlético. We don’t know if they will play with three or five defenders. We have to deal with either eventuality. We know fairly well how they will play, though, and we have a fair idea of how to play against them.
Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus coach
We have great respect for Olympiacos, Míchel has brought a real Spanish mentality to the club. They keep possession of the ball and have quality players like [Alejandro] Domínguez, [Éric] Abidal and [Kostas] Mitroglou and they beat Atlético Madrid.
Tomorrow is important but not decisive. We will meet again in Turin in two weeks’ time and we have to collect as many points as we can from both games. We have to be motivated and we cannot afford mistakes. I’m sure the fans will be passionate but they aren’t out on the pitch – the players are.
source: uefa.com
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 