Gunners Need A Home Win To Avoid Spursday Night Matches

Match Preview – Arsenal vs Olympiakos – Champions League – 29.09.15

After the debacle that was the opening game Arsenal simply have to win this game. We’ll try our best to beat Bayern home and away but if we come away with two points from both games we’ll consider ourselves lucky. Add that to two wins at home against Olympiakos and Zagreb and we’ll have 8 points. We’ll need to beat Olympiakos away to have any chance of getting out of the group, especially if we can’t take more than a point from Bayern. And Olympiakos has never lost to us at home. Then again, we’ve never lost to them at home either.

The signs are pointing to an Arsenal win. The excellent home record against tonight’s opposition, their woeful away form, Alexis scoring goals again, Coquelin potentially being bit. However, complacency has cost us far too often so we need to play this game as though our Champions League future depends on it because it does. A loss here and we’ll be scrabbling around for a Europa League spot and no-one wants to play on a Thursday night.

It looks like Ospina will be preferred to Cech which has left a fair few people feeling bewildered.

Giroud is suspended after his ridiculous red card in Croatia so Theo Walcott will continue up front with no senior back up. Ramsey could be called into action in his preferred central midfield role and we may even line up without a recognised, specialist defensive midfielder. It’s going to be interesting.

Arsenal should walk this one but after the Zagreb game I’m not so confident, although the excellent attacking display against Leicester has given me hope we are finding our groove.

Arsenal from; Cech, Ospina, Debuchy, Gibbs, Monreal, Gabriel, Koscielny, Chambers, Reine-Adelaide, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin, Özil, Cazorla, Walcott

Predicted Line-up

Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Ramsey, Özil, Alexis, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott

Match Quote

“Our home games will be absolutely vital, so we have a big task and we need to do that well”  – Arsène Wenger

Last 2 Meetings

• Olympiakos 2-1 Arsenal (04.12.2012)
• Arsenal 3-1 Olympiakos (03.10.2012)
• Olympiakis 3-1 Arsenal (06.12.2011)

Form Guide

Arsenal Last 5
WWWDW

Olympiakos Last 5
WWLWW

Opposition watch

Olympiakos dominate the Greek league and have only lost once this season, against Bayern. Despite the 3-0 scoreline it was a tight match which relied on two late goals from the German side to make it look like they dominated when they did anything but. Olympiakos midfielder Luka Milivojevic is still suspended after being sent off in the Europa League last season. Manuel da Costa is a doubt with a calf strain last week and Domínguez has been missing since he suffered an injury against Bayern Munich. Club captain, Giannis Maniatis and midfielder Andreas Bouchalakis are in the long-term treatment room.

Factfile

• Arsenal have never lost at home to Olympiakos
• Olympiakos have lost their last five away European matches
• Arsenal are unbeaten at home in 8 matches against Greek opposition
• Olympiakos have never won a European game in England, conceding 37 goals in 12 matches

Prediction

2-0 to Arsenal.

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