UEFA Champions League - 2019/20 SeasonMatch press kits

Olympiacos and Crvena zvezda meet in Piraeus with third place in Group B, and a spot in the UEFA Europa League round of 32, on the line.

• In the sides' first ever meeting the Serbian champions came from behind to beat their Greek rivals 3-1 in Belgrade on Matchday 2 thanks to goals from Miloš Vulić (62), Nemanja Milunović (87) and Richmond Boakye (90) after Rúben Semedo's first-half opener.

• Crvena zvezda have only those three points to their name in the section, but are still two points better off than Olympiacos, who have lost their last four UEFA Champions League matches. Crvena zvezda will therefore finish third if they avoid defeat at Olympiacos, who need to win to overtake their opponents.

Form guide
Olympiacos
• Having come from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Tottenham on Matchday 1, the Piraeus club have lost their last four Group B games; after letting slip the lead to lose at Crvena zvezda, they were beaten twice by Bayern München, 3-2 in Greece and 2-0 at home. Last time out Olympiacos again led, this time 2-0 at Spurs, but ultimately went down 4-2.

• Second in the 2018/19 Greek Super League behind PAOK, Pedro Martins' side were unbeaten in this season's UEFA Champions League before losing on Matchday 2, 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.

• Olympiacos's next defeat in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, will be their 62nd, equalling Porto's competition record.

• 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).

• The 3-2 defeat by Bayern on Matchday 4 ended a ten-game home unbeaten European run for Olympiacos (W7 D3), since a 2-0 loss against Juventus on Matchday 6 of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League.

• Olympiacos have scored twice in each of their home games against Serbian opponents, a 2-0 defeat of Rad in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup first round (3-2 aggregate) and a 2-2 draw with Partizan in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round (5-3 aggregate).

Crvena zvezda
• The home win against Olympiacos aside, Crvena zvezda have suffered four defeats in Group B. They opened with a 3-0 loss at Bayern before two heavy defeats by Tottenham. A 5-0 away defeat equalled Crvena zvezda's biggest loss in Europe, and a 4-0 reverse in the return fixture two weeks later represented their heaviest home defeat in UEFA competition. Both those records were surpassed on Matchday 5, however, a rampant Bayern running out 6-0 winners in Belgrade.

• Crvena zvezda have conceded 19 goals in their five group games – the most in this season's competition.

• In 2018/19 the Serbian club reached the group stage from the first qualifying round and went on to finish fourth in their group, although they did claim a first UEFA Champions League group stage win for Serbia with a 2-0 home defeat of eventual champions Liverpool on Matchday 4, Milan Pavkov scoring both goals. They also held Napoli 0-0 at home on their Matchday 1 debut, although their last home fixture in the section was a 4-1 loss against Paris.

• This season, Vladan Milojević's side again started their European campaign in the first qualifying round, where they were 2-1 aggregate winners against Sūduva of Lithuania (0-0 a, 2-1 h). They subsequently came through tight ties against HJK Helsinki (2-0 h, 1-2 a) and Copenhagen (1-1 h, 1-1 a, 7-6 pens) before beating Young Boys on away goals in the play-offs (2-2 a, 1-1 h).

• Crvena zvezda have won only four of their last 21 European fixtures (D8 L9). They are ten games without an away victory (D4 L6) since a 2-1 triumph at Spartak Trnava in last season's third qualifying round second leg.

• The Serbian club were beaten 3-0 at Aris Thessaloniki in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup group stage, their last trip to Greece, where they have suffered five defeats in six games. The sole exception was a 2-0 win at Panathinaikos in the 1991/92 European Champion Clubs' Cup third round, when the then holders went on to complete a 3-0 aggregate success.

• European champions in 1991, Crvena zvezda claimed their second successive Serbian league title in 2018/19 and a 30th national championship overall.

Links and trivia
• Crvena zvezda head coach Milojević spent the majority of his playing days in Greece, representing PAS Giannina (1993/94), Kalamata (1994/95), Apollon Smyrni (1996/97 and 2004), Panathinaikos (1997–2000), Iraklis (2000–03) and Akratitos (2003). As a player he faced Olympiacos 14 times, winning only once while suffering ten defeats. He was sent off in an Olympiacos-Panathinaikos derby in December 1997.

• Milojević spent 2016/17 in the Greek Super League at the helm of Panionios, when Giorgos Masouras was in the club's squad. Milojević's Panionios won 1-0 at Olympiacos in February 2017.

• Marko Marin was an Olympiacos player from 2016 to 2018, scoring 12 goals in 59 matches in all competitions.

• Have also played in Greece:
José Cañas (PAOK 2016–19)
Mateo García (Aris 2018/19)
Tomané (Panetolikos 2016)

• Cañas won three successive Greek Cups and the 2018/19 Super League title with PAOK.

• Have played together:
Andreas Bouchalakis, Omar Elabdellaoui, Pape Abou Cissé & Marko Marin (Olympiacos 2016–18)
Pape Abou Cissé & Marko Marin (Olympiacos 2017/18)
Lazar Randjelović & Radovan Pankov (Radnički Niš 2018/19)
Daniel Podence & Jander (Moreirense 2016/17)
Bruno Gaspar & Tomané (Vitória SC 2014–16)
Lazar Randjelović & Srdjan Babić, Milan Gajić (Serbia Under-21s)

Latest news

Olympiacos
• Olympiacos's record this season is now W14 D6 L4, with 43 goals scored and 20 conceded. Fourteen of those goals have been conceded in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage, where Olympiacos have also suffered their only defeats in 2019/20.

• The Piraeus club remain undefeated in this season's Super League (W9 D4), although they have drawn three of their last five games. They were 3-0 winners at Panaitolikos on Saturday, Youssef El Arabi finding the net twice to become the club's top league scorer this term with six goals.

• Olympiacos's perfect home record in this season's Super League was ended by a 1-1 draw against champions PAOK on 1 December. They had won 15 home league games in a row, since another 1-1 draw, against Panathinaikos, on 11 November 2018.

• Olympiacos have, however, won only two of their last eight away matches in all competitions (D3 L3).

• Olympiacos have conceded just five goals in the first 13 matches of the Super League season and no more than one in any game.

• Mathieu Valbuena suffered a relapse of a right hamstring injury in scoring the penalty equaliser against PAOK; he was sidelined by a similar problem between 18 October, when he sustained it in training, and 2 November, with the PAOK game his first start since 6 October.

• Valbuena is still the oldest player to have scored in this season's UEFA Champions League thanks to his Matchday 1 penalty against Tottenham against 34 years 355 days.

• Pape Abou Cissé has not played since 14 September and spent 17 days in hospital with a respiratory infection. He returned to training in mid-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 has resumed full training.

• On 23 October, Olympiacos announced that former goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis has been appointed director of their youth academy and will also take charge of the club's Under-19 side.

Crvena zvezda
• Mirko Ivanić's next appearance in UEFA club competition will be his 50th.

• Crvena zvezda have won 17 of their 19 league matches this season, and scored two or more goals in 15 of those victories. They won 3-1 at home to Spartak Subotica on Saturday.

• Their 11-match winning run in the Serbian Super League, including the first six this season, was ended by a 2-0 loss at Partizan in the Belgrade derby on 22 September. Crvena zvezda had suffered only one defeat in their previous 69 league outings, a 3-2 loss at Čukarički on 20 April this year. Their record otherwise was W62 D6 before the loss at Partizan.

• Crvena zvezda had kept three successive clean sheets in the league before going a goal down against Spartak on Saturday, and have conceded only twice in their last six Super League games.

• Crvena zvezda have scored 37 goals in their last 13 domestic games.

• 'Red Star' were 8-0 winners away to fourth division Trepča in the Serbian Cup first round on 10 October, Veljko Simić scoring four times – more than in his previous 26 appearances for the club combined.

• Richmond Boakye scored the only goal as Crvena zvezda were 1-0 winners at home to Mačva in the last 16 of the Serbian Cup on 20 November.

• Boakye has not played since that cup game due to a muscle injury.

• Milan Pavkov came on as a late substitute on Saturday, his first outing since suffering an ankle injury against Tottenham on Matchday 4.

• Rajiv van la Parra has a back injury and has not played since 20 November.

• Matchday 5 marked Vladan Milojević's 42nd European game in charge of Crvena zvezda, extending his own Serbian record.

Date of birth: 09 March 1970
Nationality: Serbian
Playing career: Bečej, Radnički Beograd, PAS Giannina, Kalamata, Crvena zvezda, Apollon Athens, Panathinaikos, Iraklis, Akratitos
Coaching career: Iraklis (youth), Crvena zvezda (youth), Javor, Čukarički, Omonia, Panionios, Crvena zvezda

• Born in Arandelovac, Milojević began playing football in Crvena zvezda's youth sides before moving on to the first team of Yugoslav league clubs Bečej and Radnički Beograd.

• Milojević moved to Greece in 1993, initially joining second division side PAS Giannina, and later helping Kalamata to promotion to the top flight. He became the first foreign central defender to play for Panathinaikos when he joined in July 1997 and stayed for three years, going on to have spells at Iraklis and Akratitos before ending his playing career in 2004.

• Appointed to coach at Iraklis's academies in February 2008, Milojević spent 2011/12 in charge of Javor before guiding Čukarički to the club's first major trophy with a shock Serbian Cup final win over Partizan in 2014/15. Took charge at Cypriot club Omonia between November 2015 and May 2016.

• Returned to Greece in August 2016, taking over at Panionios, who were second to eventual champions Olympiacos for much of the campaign, aided by a notable away win in Piraeus. Eventually finished fifth in what proved Milojević's sole season in charge.

• Appointed Crvena zvezda coach on 5 June 2017, he won the Serbian Super League in his debut campaign and kicked off 2018/19 by taking the Belgrade outfit into the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time. Although they bowed out after matchday six, the Red-and-Whites had the consolation of a home victory against eventual champions Liverpool – Serbia's first ever group win – and ended the season by retaining the league title. They then came through four qualifying rounds to earn an immediate UEFA Champions League group stage return at the start of 2019/20.

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)

FK Crvena zvezda
Formed: 1945
Nickname: Crveno-beli (Red-and-Whites)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Cup (1): 1991
• UEFA Cup: (1979)
• UEFA Super Cup: (1991)
• European/South American Cup (1): 1991

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
League title: 30 (2019)
Yugoslavian/Serbian Cup: 24 (2012)

Ten-year record (UEFA Champions League unless indicated otherwise)
2018/19: group stage
2017/18: UEFA Europa League round of 32
2016/17: UEFA Europa League play-offs (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round)
2015/16: UEFA Europa League first qualifying round
2014/15: did not take part in UEFA competition
2013/14: UEFA Europa League third qualifying round
2012/13: UEFA Europa League play-offs
2011/12: UEFA Europa League play-offs
2010/11: UEFA Europa League third qualifying round
2009/10: UEFA Europa League play-offs

Records
UEFA club competition
• Biggest home win
9-1: Crvena zvezda v Stade Dudelange
02/10/57, European Champion Clubs' Cup preliminary round second leg

• Biggest away win
2-7: Komloi BSK v Crvena zvezda
15/09/71, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round first leg
1-6: Avenir Beggen v Crvena zvezda
22/10/74, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round first leg
0-5 twice, most recently v Dundalk
07/09/88, European Champion Clubs' Cup first round first leg

• Heaviest home defeat
0-6: Crvena zvezda v Bayern München
26/11/19, UEFA Champions League group stage

• Heaviest away defeat
6-1: Paris Saint-German v Crvena zvezda
03/10/18, UEFA Champions League group stage
5-0 twice, most recently v Tottenham
22/10/19, UEFA Champions League group stage

UEFA Champions League (group stage to final)
• Biggest home win
3-1: Crvena zvezda v Olympiacos
01/10/19, group stage
2-0: Crvena zvezda v Liverpool
06/11/18, group stage

• Biggest away win
N/A

• Heaviest home defeat
0-6: Crvena zvezda v Bayern München (see above)

• Heaviest away defeat
6-1: Paris Saint-German v Crvena zvezda (see above)
5-0: Tottenham v Crvena zvezda (see above)