Olympiakos boast a terrific recent home European record and a chance is taken on them improving it this evening.
The Greek champions entertain an in-form Schalke side but Tuesday’s hosts have tasted defeat just twice on home soil in the Champions League in six years and they will be confident ahead of this season’s opening fixture.
Arsenal are expected to advance with relative ease from the section but the other spot looks very much up for grabs and results in front of their owns fans will be vital for this pair, along with French champions Montpellier who are the Gunners’ opponents tonight.
Having started the new Super League season with three wins, scoring eight goals in the process, Olympiakos will be bracing themselves for a sterner test from the Bundesliga side but only Marseille and Bordeaux have triumphed in this competition at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki since October 2006 and some of Europe’s big names have failed to win here in that time.
Real Madrid, Lazio, Werder Bremen, Chelsea and Arsenal (twice), are among those to have left without three points and while Schalke are unbeaten themselves this term the fixture list has been kind to Huub Stevens’ team.
Recent wins over Augsburg and Furth were very much expected and once again they will rely an awful lot on the goals of the prolific Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
It is a magnificent 31 goals in his previous 35 top flight German matches for the Dutch striker and if Olympiakos can keep him quiet then the home team must have a terrific chance of starting with a victory.
In Algerian Rafik Djebbour, Olympiakos have their own significant goal threat and, at just a fraction under evens in the draw no bet market, the Greeks make plenty of appeal.
2pts Back Olympiakos (Draw No Bet, vs. Schalke) @ 1.96 (Bet Victor)