UEFA Champions League - 2019/20 SeasonMatch press kits

Already three points clear in Group B, Bayern München will be looking to consolidate that position as they kick off their double header against an Olympiacos team they have beaten in all four previous contests.

• Emphatic wins against Crvena zvezda and, especially, Tottenham have put Bayern in control of the section, and they now face opponents who have picked up only one point from their first two fixtures.

Previous meetings
• Bayern have scored 14 goals in their four matches against Olympiacos, keeping clean sheets in the last three fixtures.

• Most recently, in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller and Kingsley Coman were all on target in a 4-0 home success in Munich. That followed a 3-0 victory in Greece in which Müller scored twice.

• Bayern's first game in Piraeus, in the 1980/81 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round, ended in a 4-2 win, setting up a 7-2 aggregate triumph.

Form guide
Olympiacos
• The Piraeus club looked set to start the 2019/20 group stage with a defeat when Spurs established a 2-0 lead in Greece on Matchday 1, but battled back for a 2-2 draw. It was their turn to let an advantage slip in the second round of fixtures, however, Crvena zvezda running out 3-1 winners in Belgrade after Olympiacos had led.

• Second in the 2018/19 Greek Super League behind PAOK, Pedro Martins' side were unbeaten in this season's UEFA Champions League before losing last time out, having kicked off in the second qualifying round. They beat Viktoria Plzeň (0-0 a, 4-0 h) and İstanbul Başakşehir in the third qualifying round (1-0 a, 2-0 h) before overcoming Krasnodar in the play-offs (4-0 h, 2-1 a) and then drawing with Spurs.

• The point from Matchday 1 equalled the Greek side's six-match total from their last UEFA Champions League group stage campaign in 2017/18, when they finished bottom of a section including Barcelona, Juventus and Sporting CP.

• In 2018/19 Olympiacos went from the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round to the round of 32 thanks to a memorable Matchday 6 defeat of AC Milan in Piraeus. They were unable to get past Dynamo Kyiv in the first knockout round, however, going out 3-2 on aggregate (2-2 h, 0-1 a).

• This season's results have made it ten home European games without defeat for Olympiacos (W7 D3), since a 2-0 loss against Juventus on Matchday 6 of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League.

• Olympiacos lost their first two home games against German clubs, but won the next four, scoring 16 goals in the process. They have been defeated in the last two, however, going down 2-1 against Schalke in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage prior to their 2015 reverse against Bayern.

• Olympiacos have lost their last five games against Bundesliga sides, home and away, scoring only one goal while conceding 11.

Bayern
• On Matchday 1 Kingsley Coman's diving header gave Bayern a first-half lead against Crvena zvezda, further goals from Robert Lewandowski (80) and Thomas Müller (90+1) wrapping up a 3-0 win late on.

• Bayern scored seven goals in a UEFA Champions League match for a record fifth time on matchday 2, Serge Gnabry becoming the 14th player to score four times in a match in the competition in a 7-2 success at Tottenham, and the first to hit four in the second half. It was the 19th time Bayern had scored five or more goals in a UEFA Champions League match, level with Barcelona as a competition record.

• This is Bayern's 23rd UEFA Champions League group campaign, fewer only than Barcelona and Real Madrid (both 24). They have won their section 15 times, although their first-place finish in 2018/19 was their first since 2015/16.

• Twelve months ago Bayern picked up seven points away, and 14 overall, to finish first in Group E ahead of Ajax, Benfica and AEK Athens. They drew 0-0 at Liverpool in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, but bowed out after going down 3-1 in the home return.

• Champions of Germany for a record 29th time last season – with a landmark seventh successive Bundesliga title – Bayern had reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals or better in seven successive campaigns before losing to Liverpool.

• In the 2018/19 group stage, Niko Kovač's side won 2-0 at both Benfica and AEK Athens before a 3-3 Matchday 6 draw at Ajax and the first-leg stalemate at Liverpool.

• Bayern are unbeaten in their last ten European away games (W7 D3), scoring at least two goals in all but the goalless draw at Liverpool last season. Before winning at Benfica the Munich club had not kept a clean sheet on their UEFA Champions League travels in 14 matches; they have now managed three in the last five.

• Bayern beat AEK 2-0 away and home in last season's group stage and have never lost to a Greek club (W9 D2). The German side have kept clean sheets in their last eight matches with Greek opponents, scoring 17 goals across the five most recent contests.

Links and trivia
• Has played in Germany:
Omar Elabdellaoui (Eintracht Braunschweig 2013–14)

• Have played together:
Mathieu Valbuena & Corentin Tolisso (Lyon 2015–17)
Yassine Benzia & Benjamin Pavard (LOSC Lille 2015/16)

• Lewandowski scored in Borussia Dortmund's 3-1 defeat at Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League group stage in December 2011.

• Lewandowski was also on target as Poland drew 1-1 against Greece in the opening match of UEFA EURO 2012.

• Ivan Perišić scored Croatia's third goal in a 4-1 defeat of Greece in the 2018 FIFA World Cup play-offs.

Latest News

Olympiacos
• Mathieu Valbuena is the oldest player to score in this season's UEFA Champions League; he was aged 34 years 355 days when he converted a penalty against Tottenham on Matchday 1.

• The Matchday 2 loss at Crvena zvezda ended Olympiacos's 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W17 D3). Their previous defeat came on 28 February, when they lost 1-0 at home to Lamia in the Greek Cup quarter-final second leg.

• Olympiacos's record this season is now W11 D3 L1, with 30 goals scored and nine conceded. Five of those goals have been conceded in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

• The Piraeus club dropped their only points in this season's Super League on 22 September, in the away derby against Panathinaikos (1-1). They were 2-1 winners at home to OFI Crete on Saturday.

• Omar Elabdellaoui earned the penalty for Norway's late equaliser in the UEFA EURO 2020 qualifier against Spain on 12 October (1-1).

• Uncapped duo José Sá and Rúben Semedo were called up by Portugal for the UEFA EURO 2020 qualifiers against Luxembourg and Ukraine and were unused substitutes in both games.

• Valbuena suffered a right hamstring strain during training on Friday and is expected be sidelined for the next fortnight.

• Daniel Podence suffered a groin injury during a 2-1 league win at Aris on 6 October, when Kostas Tsimikas picked up a knock that ruled him out of Greece's UEFA EURO 2020 qualifiers against Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina; Podence returned on Saturday.

• Guilherme was laid low during a viral infection during the international break but recovered to play 90 minutes against OFI.

• Mohamed Camara suffered a minor injury against Crvena zvezda and missed the Aris game but returned as a late substitute at the weekend. Yassine Benzia picked up a minor injury in a training match between Olympiacos' seniors and the Under-19 team during the international break and did not feature against OFI.

• Pape Abou Cissé has not played since 14 September and spent 17 days in hospital with a respiratory infection. He is expected to return to action in November.

• Olympiacos captain Kostas Fortounis is expected to be out of action until March 2020 after suffering a knee ligament injury in a pre-season friendly against Hamburg on 10 July.

• Lazaros Christodoulopoulos has been sidelined since 17 February with a cruciate knee ligament injury and has not been included in this season's UEFA Champions League squad. He returned to full training in September and is expected to be back in action in November.

• On 15 October, Olympiacos announced the signing of 19-year old international Cypriot midfielder Giannis Kosti from Nea Salamina, where he will remain on loan for the rest of the season.

• Former player Alejandro Domínguez joined the Olympiacos scouting department on 20 September; he will focus mainly on South America.

• On 17 October Olympiacos announced Podence has signed a contract extension until 2023.

Bayern
• Bayern are the top-scoring team in this season's UEFA Champions League with ten goals in two matches.

• Four days after winning at Tottenham, Bayern suffered their first Bundesliga defeat of the season, losing 2-1 against Hoffenheim at home. They dropped two further points on Saturday, conceding an added-time equaliser to draw 2-2 at Augsburg.

• Robert Lewandowski scored his 11th and 12th league goals of the season against Hoffenheim and Augsburg and is now the fourth best Bundesliga scorer of all time with 214 strikes.

• Lewandowski, whose goal against Crvena zvezda on Matchday 1 was his 200th competitive strike for Bayern, equalled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 2015/16 feat of scoring in the first eight Bundesliga matches.

• The Polish striker, who has registered 16 goals in 12 competitive Bayern games this season, is the first Bayern player to score in the first eight league games of a season.

• In the European Qualifiers Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in Poland's 3-0 win at Latvia on 10 October, taking his total to 60 international goals.

• Lewandowski and Thiago Alcántara (Spain) both helped their countries qualify for UEFA EURO 2020 during the international break.

• Alphonso Davies scored for Canada in a 2-0 win against the United States in CONCACAF Nations League A on 15 October – their first success against their neighbours for 34 years.

• Serge Gnabry scored and set up the second goal in Germany's 2-2 friendly draw against Argentina on 9 October. He missed the UEFA EURO 2020 qualifier in Estonia four days later due to muscular problems but returned, and scored, at Augsburg on Saturday.

• David Alaba missed the Hoffenheim game and both Austria's EURO qualifiers against Israel and Slovenia due to a rib injury he suffered against Tottenham, but returned to team training on 15 October. He replaced Niklas Süle after 12 minutes at Augsburg, Süle having to be withdrawn after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

• Jann-Fiete Arp underwent surgery on his left wrist on 26 September and has not featured since.

• Leon Goretzka made his first appearance in the Bundesliga this season as a late replacement at Augsburg having recovered from a thigh injury.

FootballPeople weeks
The FootballPeople weeks take place from 10 to 24 October 2019 and are organised by UEFA's social responsibility partner Fare. The weeks are a global campaign aimed at tackling discrimination and celebrating diversity in football. The UEFA Champions League is offering its full support to the FootballPeople weeks; teams will line up for a mixed photo with the referees, while an #EqualGame hashtag will also be on display. Videos will be played on giant screens at stadiums across Europe, and child mascots will be wearing #FootballPeople t-shirts. UEFA's collaboration with the Fare network's FootballPeople weeks has been running since 2001. The aim of this initiative fits in perfectly with the goals of #EqualGame, which is looking to promote inclusion, diversity and accessibility.

Date of birth: 17 July 1970
Nationality: Portuguese
Playing career: Feirense, Vitória SC, Sporting CP, Boavista, Santa Clara, Alverca
Coaching career: União Lamas, Lusitânia, Espinho, Marítimo B, Marítimo, Rio Ave, Vitória SC, Olympiacos

• Martins joined the youth ranks of Feirense at the age of 13 and made his professional debut five years later. He started as an attacking midfielder but dropped back into a more defensive role, going on to play almost 200 games in the Portuguese Liga and over 100 in the second division.

• Won his solitary cap for Portugal as a substitute against Northern Ireland in qualifying for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, hanging up his boots in 2004 having spent his entire playing career in his homeland.

• Two years after his retirement he landed his first coaching job at the helm of third division União Lamas, going on to have spells with Lusitânia and Espinho before taking over Marítimo's B team. In September 2010 he was promoted to their senior side and the transition proved successful, Martins taking them to fifth place in the top flight in 2011/12 and through two qualifying rounds into the UEFA Europa League group stage the following season.

• In 2014 accepted a new challenge at Rio Ave, also leading them into the UEFA Europa League via a sixth-placed finish in the league; returned to Vitória SC in Guimarães, where he had spent a season as a player, in 2016, taking them to fourth place and the Portuguese Cup final in 2016/17.

• Left his post in February 2018, taking over at Olympiacos two months later for his first post outside Portugal; ended his first full season in second place in the Greek Super League and in summer 2019 led the Piraeus club through qualifying to earn a place in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Date of birth: 15 October 1971
Nationality: Croatian
Playing career: Hertha Zehlendorf, Hertha Berlin (twice), Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, Bayern München, Salzburg
Coaching career: Croatia Under-21, Croatia, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern München

• Born in Berlin to parents hailing from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kovač began his career at local side Hertha Zehlendorf before earning a move to 2. Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin in 1991. A defensive midfielder, he then joined Leverkusen, playing alongside younger brother Robert for the first time.

• Signed for Hamburg in 1999 but was reunited with Robert when the pair were snapped up by Bayern two years later. Won a league and cup double in 2002/03 yet struggled to tie down a starting spot and returned to Hertha in 2003, subsequently ending his playing days with Salzburg.

• Collected his first Croatia cap in 1996 and featured in 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying, only for injury to rule him out of the finals. Ever-present at the 2002 World Cup and UEFA EURO 2004, he also featured in the 2006 World Cup and UEFA EURO 2008, retiring in 2009 with 83 caps and 14 international goals.

• Quickly turned to coaching, first overseeing Salzburg's youth side and then working as a first-team assistant. Left Salzburg in 2012 and took charge, assisted by brother Robert, of Croatia's U21 squad in January 2013 before stepping up to the senior side that October following Igor Štimac's resignation. Took Croatia to the 2014 World Cup via the play-offs but was unable to guide his side into the knockout rounds and dismissed in September 2015.

• Resurfaced at Eintracht in March 2016, guiding the club to Bundesliga survival that year and mid-table safety, plus the German Cup final, in 2016/17. Oversaw an eighth-place finish the following campaign and having been announced as the new Bayern coach in April 2018, Kovač bowed out at Eintracht by winning the club's first trophy since 1988 with victory in the German Cup final – against Bayern. Retained the cup in his first season in Munich, completing the domestic double after Bayern's Bundesliga triumph.

UEFA Champions League: Did you know?

Overall records
• In 2012/13, Chelsea became the first defending champions to fail to get through a group stage since the UEFA Champions League began. (This record, like the others, includes the seasons between 1999/2000 and 2002/03 that featured a second group stage). In 1992/93, Barcelona were the reigning European Champion Clubs' Cup holders and lost 4-3 on aggregate in the second round to CSKA Moskva.

• In 2016/17 Real Madrid became the first team to successfully defend the UEFA Champions League trophy, with AC Milan (1989, 1990) the previous club to win consecutive European Cups. Milan (1994, 1995), Ajax (1995, 1996), Juventus (1996, 1997) and Manchester United (2008, 2009) have all returned to the UEFA Champions League final as holders only to lose.

• Real Madrid then made it three wins in a row in 2017/18, becoming the fourth club to win three or more successive titles in European Cup history, and the first to do it twice.

• Only two teams have ever won the UEFA Champions League on home soil: Borussia Dortmund (1997, final in Munich) and Juventus (1996, final in Rome), while Manchester United lost the 2011 final in London and 12 months later Bayern were beaten in the showpiece in their own stadium, the Fußball Arena München.

Group stage
• Barcelona have finished as group winners on 20 occasions, four more than Real Madrid and five more than Bayern München and Manchester United. Barça also hold the record for the most unbeaten group stage campaigns with 12, four more than Real Madrid.

• Bayern München (2 April 2013 to 27 November 2013) and Real Madrid (23 April 2014 to 18 February 2015) jointly hold the record for successive wins in the UEFA Champions League proper with ten. Bayern surpassed the previous mark of nine, set by Barcelona between 18 September 2002 and 18 February 2003.

• Six teams have recorded six successive victories in a UEFA Champions League group stage: Milan (1992/93), Paris Saint-Germain (1994/95), Spartak Moskva (1995/96), Barcelona (2002/03, first group stage) and Real Madrid (2011/12 and 2014/15).

• Twenty-one teams have gone through a UEFA Champions League group stage without picking up a single point, most recently AEK Athens in 2018/19.

• In 2017/18, Paris Saint-Germain set a new group stage record by scoring 25 goals, with Liverpool (23) also eclipsing the old mark of 21 set by Borussia Dortmund in 2016/17. Manchester United (1998/99), Barcelona (2011/12, 2016/17) and Real Madrid (2013/14) all managed 20.

• Only Deportivo La Coruña (2004/05), Maccabi Haifa (2009/10) and Dinamo Zagreb (2016/17) have failed to score in a group stage.

• BATE Borisov conceded 24 goals in 2014/15, a new group stage record which was matched by Legia Warszawa in 2016/17. The previous mark, 22, was held by Dinamo Zagreb (2011/12) and Nordsjælland (2012/13); Malmö shipped 21 in 2015/16.

• No team has ever gone through a UEFA Champions League group stage without conceding a goal. Milan (1992/93), Ajax (1995/96), Juventus (1996/97 and 2004/05), Chelsea (2005/06), Liverpool (2005/06), Villarreal (2005/06), Manchester United (2010/11), Monaco (2014/15), Paris Saint-Germain (2015/16) and Barcelona (2017/18) all let in just one.

• Matchday six of the 2013/14 marked FCSB's 23rd successive game in the competition without a victory, surpassing the previous record of 22 set by Spartak Moskva between December 2000 and November 2006.

• Anderlecht hold the unwanted record for successive defeats in the competition, group stage to final, having lost 12 in a row between December 2003 and November 2005. Dinamo Zagreb are next with 11 consecutive losses on two occasions, from September 2011 to November 2012 and ongoing since September 2015.

• The lowest total for a team qualifying from the group stage is six points: Zenit in 2013/14 and Roma in 2015/16. Since three points for a win was introduced in 1995/96, nine teams have made it through with seven points: Legia Warszawa (1995/96), Dynamo Kyiv (1999/2000), Liverpool (2001/02, second group stage), in 2002/03 Lokomotiv Moskva (first group stage) and eventual finalists Juventus (second group stage), Rangers and Werder Bremen (2005/06), Galatasaray (2013/14) and Basel (2014/15).

• Napoli failed to qualify from their group with 12 points in 2013/14, the highest total of any team not to reach the next stage when the top two in each section progressed. Dynamo Kyiv (1999/2000, second group stage), Borussia Dortmund (2002/03, second group stage), PSV Eindhoven (2003/04), Olympiacos and Dynamo Kyiv (both 2004/05), Werder Bremen (2006/07), Manchester City (2011/12), Chelsea and Cluj (both 2012/13), Benfica (2013/14) and Porto (2015/16) all missed out with ten points.

Goalscoring records
• Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a match in Barcelona's 7-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen on 7 March 2012, a feat matched by Shakhtar Donetsk's Luiz Adriano at BATE Borisov on 21 October 2014. Eleven more players, also including Messi, have scored four times in a game, most recently Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid on matchday six in 2015/16.

• Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record for a UEFA Champions League group stage with 11 goals in 2015/16, eclipsing his own mark of nine in 2013/14, which Luiz Adriano matched in 2014/15 and Ronaldo himself equalled in 2017/18. Lionel Messi got ten goals in 2016/17; Zlatan Ibrahimović (2013/14), Ruud van Nistelrooy (2004/05), Filippo Inzaghi, Hernán Crespo (both 2002/03) and Robert Lewandowski (2018/19) managed eight.

• Messi's hat-trick against PSV Eindhoven on matchday one of the 2018/19 competition was his eighth in the competition, a mark Ronaldo matched against Atlético Madrid in that season's round of 16 second leg.

Oldest and youngest players
• Lazio goalkeeper Marco Ballotta is the oldest player to compete in the UEFA Champions League having featured against Real Madrid on matchday six in 2007/08 aged 43 years and 252 days. Alessandro Costacurta is the oldest outfield player; the Milan defender was 40 years and 211 days when he played against AEK Athens in 2006/07.

• Francesco Totti is the oldest player to score in the competition, aged 38 years and 59 days, in Roma's 1-1 draw at CSKA Moskva on 25 November 2014. Ryan Giggs (37 years 290 days) was the previous record holder.

• Celestine Babayaro is the youngest player to have appeared; he was 16 years and 87 days when he started for Anderlecht against Steaua Bucureşti on 23 November 1994. He was sent off in the 37th minute.

• Peter Ofori-Quaye is the youngest player to have scored in the UEFA Champions League, aged 17 years and 195 days. He found the net in Olympiacos's 5-1 defeat at Rosenborg on 1 October 1997.

Olympiacos FC
Formed: 1925
Nickname: Erythrolefki (Red and Whites), Thrylos (Legend)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• None

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
League title: 44 (2017)
Greek Cup: 27 (2015)

Ten-year European record (UEFA Champions League unless indicated otherwise)
2018/19: UEFA Europa League round of 32
2017/18: group stage
2016/17: UEFA Europa League round of 16 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round)
2015/16: UEFA Europa League round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage)
2014/15: UEFA Europa League round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage)
2013/14: round of 16
2012/13: UEFA Europa League round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage)
2011/12: UEFA Europa League round of 16 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage)
2010/11: UEFA Europa League third qualifying round
2009/10: round of 16

Records
UEFA club competition
• Biggest home win
6-1: Olympiacos v Besa
22/07/10, UEFA Europa League second qualifying round second leg
5-0 twice, most recently v Nordsjælland
02/10/08, UEFA Cup first round second leg

• Biggest away win
0-5: Besa v Olympiacos
15/07/10, UEFA Europa League second qualifying round first leg

• Heaviest home defeat
0-4: Olympiacos v Hamburg
03/11/82, European Champion Clubs' Cup second round second leg

• Heaviest away defeat
7-0: Juventus v Olympiacos
10/12/03, UEFA Champions League group stage

UEFA Champions League (group stage to final only)
• Biggest home win
6-2: Olympiacos v Bayer Leverkusen
19/09/02, first group stage

• Biggest away win
0-3: Anderlecht v Olympiacos
02/10/13, group stage

• Heaviest home defeat
1-4: Olympiacos v Lyon
01/11/05, group stage
0-3 twice, most recently v Arsenal
09/12/15, group stage

• Heaviest away defeat
7-0: Juventus v Olympiacos (see above)

FC Bayern München
Formed: 1900
Nickname: Die Bayern (The Bavarians)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Cup/UEFA Champions League (5): 1974, 1975, 1976, (1982), (1987), (1999), 2001, (2010), (2012), 2013
• UEFA Cup (1): 1996
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1967
• UEFA Super Cup: (1975), (1976), (2001), 2013
• European/South American Cup (2): 1976, 2001

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
League title: 29 (2019)
German Cup: 19 (2019)

Ten-year European record (UEFA Champions League unless indicated otherwise)
2018/19: round of 16
2017/18: semi-finals
2016/17: quarter-finals
2015/16: semi-finals
2014/15: semi-finals
2013/14: semi-finals
2012/13: winners
2011/12: runners-up
2010/11: round of 16
2009/10: runners-up

Records
UEFA club competition
• Biggest home win
10-0: Bayern v Anorthosis Famagusta
28/09/83, UEFA Cup first round second leg

• Biggest away win
1-7: Roma v Bayern
21/10/14, UEFA Champions League group stage

• Heaviest home defeat
0-4: Bayern v Real Madrid
29/04/14, UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg

• Heaviest away defeat
6-2: København v Bayern
22/10/91, UEFA Cup second round first leg
5-1: Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayern
22/04/80, UEFA Cup semi-finals first leg
4-0 on four occasions, most recently v Barcelona
08/04/09, UEFA Champions League quarter-finals first leg

UEFA Champions League (group stage to final only)
• Biggest home win
7-0 twice, most recently v Shakhtar Donetsk
11/03/15, round of 16 second leg

• Biggest away win
1-7: Roma v Bayern (see above)

• Heaviest home defeat
0-4: Bayern v Real Madrid (see above)

• Heaviest away defeat
4-0: Barcelona v Bayern (see above)