UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 2020/21 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis - Piraeus Wednesday 21 October 2020 Olympiacos FC 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Olympique de Marseille Group C - Matchday 1 Last updated 29/10/2020 15:32CET UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORS Match background 2 Legend 5 1 Olympiacos FC - Olympique de Marseille Wednesday 21 October 2020 - 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Match press kit Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, Piraeus Match background Marseille's first UEFA Champions League group campaign in seven years kicks off at Olympiacos, who have been unable to plot a way to the round of 16 in recent campaigns. • While the French club are making their first appearance in the group stage since 2013/14, Group C rivals Olympiacos are featuring for the eighth time in ten seasons – but only one of those campaigns has extended into the knockout phase. Previous meetings • Both games ended in a 1-0 away win when the teams were paired together in the 2011/12 group stage. Marseille's Lucho González scored the only goal in Piraeus on Matchday 1; Giannis Fetfatzidis did the same for Olympiacos at the Stade Vélodrome when Mathieu Valbuena, now at Olympiacos, played 71 minutes for the French team. However, it was the French side who progressed, finishing second behind Arsenal on ten points – one ahead of Olympiacos. • Marseille also came out on top in the teams' 1994/95 UEFA Cup first round tie, winning 2-1 away and 3-0 at home. Form guide Olympiacos • Olympiacos are in the group stage for the 20th time. In 2019/20 they finished third in their section behind eventual champions Bayern München and Tottenham Hotspur, picking up four points to finish one ahead of Crvena zvezda. • Pedro Martins' side then earned a famous win against Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League round of 32, progressing on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw (0-1 h, 2-1 a), but came unstuck against another English club in the last 16, losing to Wolves (1-1 h, 0-1 a). • The Piraeus club made it four UEFA Champions League play-off wins from four ties by defeating Cypriot club Omonoia this season (2-0 h, 0-0 a). • Those results stretched Olympiacos's unbeaten run in European qualifying fixtures to 18 matches (W14 D4), home and away, since a 1-0 loss at Hapoel Beer-Sheva in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. They had won all seven matches in the UEFA Champions League play-offs before this season's draw at Omonoia. • Champions of Greece for the 45th time in 2019/20 – their first title since 2017 – Olympiacos also lifted the Greek Cup for the 28th time to complete their 18th domestic double. • Olympiacos last faced French opponents in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage, losing 4-1 at home and 2-1 away against Paris Saint-Germain. That reverse in Piraeus made it five defeats in their last six home games against Ligue 1 clubs. • Three of Olympiacos' first six games against French clubs ended in draws, but none of the last 22 (W8 L14). Marseille • Marseille are making their tenth appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage, but their first since 2013/14. Three of those previous nine campaigns have extended into the knockout rounds, including the inaugural edition in 1992/93 when OM became the first, and so far only, French side to win the European Cup. • Marseille most recently made the knockout stages in 2011/12, when they reached the quarter-finals. • Seven years ago, OM finished bottom of their group behind Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli, losing all six games. • That extended Marseille's losing run in the UEFA Champions League to nine matches. Their last success in the competition was a 1-0 home victory against Internazionale in the 2011/12 round of 16 first leg. • Second in Ligue 1 in 2019/20, Marseille have not taken part in UEFA competition since 2018/19. Then they finished bottom of a UEFA Europa League section also including Eintracht Frankfurt, Lazio and Apollon Limassol with one point having lost five of their six matches. • Marseille are without a win in eight European matches, losing seven, since a 2-0 victory at home to Salzburg in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg. They went on to lose the second leg 2-1 but still progressed to the final, where they were beaten 3-0 by Atlético de Madrid in Lyon. • Marseille have finished outside the top two in their UEFA Champions League group in five of their last seven participations. • Their four fixtures against Olympiacos aside, OM have played only one other tie against a Greek club, beating AEK Athens in the 1989/90 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round (2-0 h, 1-1 a). • A 2-1 win at Athletic Club in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League round of 16 second leg is Marseille's only victory in 2 Olympiacos FC - Olympique de Marseille Wednesday 21 October 2020 - 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Match press kit Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, Piraeus their last 13 European away games (D5 L7). Links and trivia • Valbuena made 331 appearances for Marseille between 2006 and 2014, scoring 38 goals. He was part of their title- winning side in 2009/10 and also lifted the Coupe de la Ligue in 2010, 2011 and 2012. • Valbuena played alongside Steve Mandanda at Marseille between 2007 and 2014, and Dimitri Payet and Florian Thauvin in 2013/14. • Valbuena also played for Lyon from 2015 to 2017. His OL side suffered a 2-1 extra-time loss against Marseille in the 2016/17 Coupe de France last 32 although Valbuena scored against OM in Lyon's 3-1 Ligue 1 win on 22 January 2017. • Have also played in France: Pape Abou Cissé (AC Ajaccio 2015–17) Ousseynou Ba (Gazélec Ajaccio 2017–19) Mady Camara (AC Ajaccio 2016–18) Yann M'Vila (Rennes 2008–13, St-Étienne 2018–20) Youssef El-Arabi (Caen 2008–11) Rúben Vinagre (Monaco 2016/17) • El-Arabi scored Caen's winner in a 2-1 victory away to defending champions Marseille on the opening day of the 2010/11 Ligue 1 season. • Have played together: Rúben Semedo & Álvaro González (Villarreal 2017/18) José Holebas & Kevin Strootman (Roma 2014/15) Yann M'Vila & Yuto Nagatomo (Internazionale 2014/15) • International team-mates: Mohammed Dräger & Saîf-Eddine Khaoui (Tunisia) • Valbuena and Mandanda were both part of France's squad at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2012; Yann M'Vila was also in the party for the latter tournament. • Lazar Randjelović and Nemanja Radonjić were team-mates in Serbia's 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squad. • Marseille coach André Villas-Boas oversaw two Portuguese Liga wins against a Marítimo team coached by Pedro Martins when he was in charge of Porto in 2010/11 (4-1 h, 2-0 a). • Pedro Martins' Vitória SC side were 1-0 winners at home to Marseille in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League group stage, two weeks after going down 2-1 in France. Mandanda, Hiroki Sakai, Jordan Amavi, Morgan Sanson, Florian Thauvin and Valère Germain all played for Marseille. Latest news Olympiacos • Summer transfers In: Rafinha (Flamengo), Pêpê (Guimarães), Yann M'Vila (St-Étienne), José Holebas (Watford), Rúben Vinagre (Wolves, loan), Bruma (PSV, loan), Ögmundur Kristinsson* (Larissa), Mohamed Dräger (Freiburg), Tiago Silva* (Nottingham Forest), Ahmed Hassan (Braga), Alexandros Nikolias* (PAS Giannina), Apostolos Apostolopoulos* (Panserraikos), Pavlos Mavroudis* (Panathinaikos) * Not in UEFA Champions League squad Out: Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Atromitos), Omar Elabdellaoui (Galatasaray), Kostas Tsimikas (Liverpool), Giorgos Xenitidis (Jeunesse Esch, loan), Alexandros Voilis (Jeunesse Esch, loan), Guilherme (al-Sadd), Miguel Ángel Guerrero (Nottingham Forest), Vasilis Torosidis (retired), Marios Siampanis (Aris), Igor Silva (Osijek), Franco Soldano (Boca Juniors, loan), Leonardo Koutris (Fortuna Düsseldorf, loan), Ioannis Kosti (Larissa, loan), Svetozar Marković (Partizan, loan), Fodé Camara (Chania, loan), Yassine Meriah (Rizespor, loan), Alexandros Nikolias (Larissa, loan), Nikola Čumić (Gijón, loan), Nemanja Nikolić (Chania, loan), Abdoulaye Keita (Ajaccio, loan), Giannis Masouras (Górnik Zabrze, loan), Fiorin Durmishaj (Larissa, loan), Stefanos Evangelou (Górnik Zabrze), Dimitris Manos (Aris), Thanasis Kostanasios (Ergotelis), Yaya Banana (released), Cafú (Nottingham Forest, loan) • The first leg of this season's UEFA Champions League play-off against Omonoia was Olympiacos's 300th game in UEFA club competition. • The Red and Whites are still unbeaten in their six games this season (W4 D2); they overcame ten-man Atromitos 4- 0 at home on Saturday, substitute Youssef El-Arabi scoring a second-half hat-trick. 3 Olympiacos FC - Olympique de Marseille Wednesday 21 October 2020 - 21.00CET (22.00 local time) Match press kit Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, Piraeus • Olympiacos defeated AEK Athens 1-0 in last season's postponed Greek Cup final on 12 September thanks to a Lazar Randjelović goal. • The league game against PAOK on 24/25 October has been postponed. • Pêpê is still awaiting his Olympiacos debut but has now recovered from a muscle injury. • Giorgos Masouras started against Atromitos, his first appearance since the play-off second leg at Omonoia on 29 September due to a groin strain, but was replaced by El-Arabi five minutes before half-time. • New signing Bruma, who suffered a muscle injury in his last match for PSV Eindhoven on 27 September, resumed full training on 12 October. • Rúben Vinagre was substituted midway through the first half of Portugal's 3-0 win in Gibraltar in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying on 13 October having suffered a knock to his right foot and missed the win against Atromitos.