Reuters
London, Dec 8: Arsenal will be keen to maintain their record of qualifying for the second leg of the Champions League for the 16th consecutive occasion, a record among English clubs, when they face Greek side Olympiakos in an away match. On the other hand, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho’s job will be on the line when they host Porto in another home game.
Both matches are of huge importance as far as English clubs are concerned. A loss for the Gunners would really be a blot on their achievements while the Chelsea management may finally run out of patience with Mourinho if the Blues falter again.
But while Arsene Wenger will need a win against the Greek side to qualify for the next stage, a draw will be enough for Chelsea to keep them afloat in the Champions League. Chelsea incidentally, have lost 11 matches this season, the last of which came last week, a shock defeat to lowly-placed Bournemouth in the EPL. Incidentally in the first leg encounters both the English clubs had lost to their respective opponents – Arsenal suffering a 2-3 loss to Olympiakos while Chelsea went down 1-2 to Porto.
Now Arsenal must reverse that scoreline or improve on it to preserve their proud record under Wenger who will be missing seven players including Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere.
Wenger was particularly pleased with Saturday’s 3-1 win at home to Sunderland, a victory that lifted Arsenal to second place in the Premier League.
“For our confidence it was vital,” the French coach told reporters here Tuesday. “I was very nervous because I knew it was a very important game for our season. It has been better to prepare for the (Olympiakos) game knowing we have won. The one positive thing is we know exactly what to do.” The good thing for Arsenal is that out of their seven visits to Olympiakos, they have won six times.
For Olympiakos the match is being billed by local media as a defining moment in a breakthrough year. Greece midfielder Kostas Fortounis, one of the outstanding players for Olympiakos this season, is relishing the prospects of the game with Arsenal.
“This is a showdown, no doubt about it, out of which only one team can claim qualification to the next stage,” Fortounis stated Monday.
The problem for Mourinho’s team has been the inability to score in spite of creating quite a few chances in the games they have played this season. With Diego Costa being more involved in on-field skirmishes than scoring goals, Mourinho has not been able to find the right combination and the team has suffered.
“It’s difficult for us to score,” said Mourinho after their team training session Monday. “But then I am not one to give up hope easily. But it’s a fact that the lack of goals has forced me to adopt a safety first tactics.”
