UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 2020/21 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Stade de Marseille - Marseille Tuesday 1 December 2020 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Olympique de Marseille Group C - Matchday 5 Olympiacos FC Last updated 01/12/2020 18:46CET UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORS Match background 2 Legend 5 1 Olympique de Marseille - Olympiacos FC Tuesday 1 December 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stade de Marseille, Marseille Match background Marseille are on a record run of UEFA Champions League defeats and now face an Olympiacos side who need to win in France to keep alive their faint Group C hopes. • While the French side are still to pick up a point – or score a goal – in this season's competition, a 2-0 home reverse to Porto last time out setting a new record of 13 successive UEFA Champions League losses, Olympiacos's sole points came thanks to an added-time goal from substitute Ahmed Hassan that earned a 1-0 win at home to OM on Matchday 1. • Olympiacos are third in the section on three points, six behind second-placed Porto, who are at home to already- qualified Manchester City on Matchday 5. The Greek champions must win and hope Porto lose to prolong their challenge for second place in the section; a draw in Marseille would guarantee them third place. 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 OM 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 Marseille • Marseille are the only side still to score in this season's group stage, the opening reverse in Greece preceding 3-0 losses at home to Manchester City and at Porto before a 2-0 defeat at home to Porto last time out after that opening reverse in Greece. • The French side 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. • This season's results have extended Marseille's losing run in the UEFA Champions League to 13 matches, surpassing Anderlecht's record. 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 are taking part in UEFA competition for the first time 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 12 European matches, losing 11, 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 lost their last five home European matches having won the previous four and eight of the previous nine (D1). • Their five 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). Olympiacos • The Greek club have failed to add to the points they claimed against Marseille, falling to subsequent defeats at Porto (0-2) and Manchester City (0-3) and at home to the English club (0-1). • 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 Wolverhampton Wanderers (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). 2 Olympique de Marseille - Olympiacos FC Tuesday 1 December 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stade de Marseille, Marseille • 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 have lost their last nine away games in the UEFA Champions League group stage, since a 1-0 success at Dinamo Zagreb in October 2015; that is one of only two wins in their last 16 such fixtures (D1 L13). • Erythrolefki have lost six of their last eight European away games (W1 D1). • Before Matchday 1 Olympiacos had 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 Paris made it four defeats in their last six trips to France (W2), where their record overall is W4 D1 L9. • Three of Olympiacos' first six games against French clubs ended in draws, but there have been none in the last 23 (W9 L14). 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: Álvaro González & Rúben Semedo (Villarreal 2017/18) Kevin Strootman & José Holebas (Roma 2014/15) Yuto Nagatomo & Yann M'Vila (Internazionale 2014/15) • International team-mates: Saîf-Eddine Khaoui & Mohammed Dräger (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, Thauvin and Valère Germain all played for Marseille. Latest news Marseille • Marseille have won their last four Ligue 1 matches, beating Nantes 3-1 at the Stade Vélodrome on Saturday after a 1-0 victory at Strasbourg on 6 November in their previous fixture. • OM are now unbeaten in seven league matches (W4 D3). • Marseille started the season with two victories, including a 1-0 success away to champions Paris Saint-Germain on 13 September, their first win against Paris since November 2011. • OM had to wait until their fourth game at the Stade Vélodrome this season for their first home victory (D2 L1), a 3-1 defeat of Bordeaux 3-1 on 17 October. 3 Olympique de Marseille - Olympiacos FC Tuesday 1 December 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stade de Marseille, Marseille • Despite the victory against Nantes, Marseille have won only two of their last nine home matches in all competitions (D3 L4). • Nemanja Radonjić was part of the Serbia team beaten on penalties by Scotland in the UEFA EURO 2020 play-off final in Belgrade on 12 November. He then scored in successive UEFA Nations League matches against Hungary (1- 1 a) and Russia (5-0 h). He was replaced in the first half of the latter match after suffering a thigh injury and has not played since. • A Saîf-Eddine Khaoui goal earned Tunisia a 1-1 draw away to Tanzania on 17 November, confirming their place at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals for the 15th tournament running, a new African record.