Bayern Munich will begin their UEFA Champions League campaign on Wednesday when they take on Olympiakos at the Stadio Gerogios Karaiskaki in Greece.
Five-time Champions League winner Bayern Munich will be looking to add the sixth title to their trophy museum. Pep Guardiola's men have been knocked out in the semi-finals of the last two seasons of the UEFA Champions League and this time they would want to make it big. Guardiola has a huge task ahead of him and will want his players to be at their best.
On the other hand, Olympiakos were shown the exit door in the very first round last year. They were pitted against Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Malmo but managed to win their first three matches. It was not enough to put them in the round of 32 of the European Championship. The champions of Greece would want to better that record this time.
Meanwhile, the Bavarians have made a solid start to their Bundesliga season. They have won all four games that they have played this season and Guardiola's men have found the back of the net 15 times.
One would believe that this will be an easy fixture for Bayern Munich but Guardiola does not want any slip-ups and is keen to earn those three points.
"I believe it would not do the club harm if they would bring in another coach. If I had to rate Guardiola from zero to 10, I would give him a five - so right in the middle. In the league they were champions, but in the Cup they have lost to Dortmund and in the Champions League they tried twice and failed.
"I do not know if another coach like Van Gaal or Heynckes would be in office after such results. You can lose against Real Madrid or Barcelona but the way and the naivety [of the defeats], for me that was very upsetting. If he wants to successfully complete these three years, he has to bring the Champions League," Bayern Munich's former midfielder Dietmar Hamann told reporters ahead of the game.
Marcos Silva's men have also won all three of their fixtures in the Greek league this season. Defensively, they have been quite strong as they have conceded only one goal in these three matches. The Olympiakos defenders will be wary of the Bavarian attacking force and will be looking forward to put up a strong show in Wednesday's fixture in front of their home crowd.
Bayern Munich will be without the services of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Javi Maritnez, Mehdi Benatia, Holger Badstuber and Jan Kirchhoff. In spite of so many absentees in their opening clash against the Olympiakos, Bayern Munich are likely to field a strong team. David Alaba is likely to partner with Jerome Boateng, Rafinha and Philip Lahm on the defensive line. Meanwhile, the Greek champions, do not have any injury concern and are likely to field their best possible team.
Bayern have class, quality and experience to overcome Olympiakos but one can never guess what will happen. The odds are in favour of Bayern Munich at the moment as they begin their UEFA Champions League campaign.
On the other hand, Olympiakos are making their 17th appearance in the European Championship which is more than any other Greek side in the history. Their best performance came in the 1998-1999 season when they qualified for the quarter-final stage.
Expected Lineups:
Olympiakos: Roberto; Elabdellaoui, Da Costa, Siovas, Masuaku; Cambiasso, Milivojevic; Dominguez, Pardo, Durmaz, Ideye.
Bayern Munich: Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Alaba, Lahm; Alonso, Vidal, Thiago; Muller, Costa, Lewandowski
Where to watch live:
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Olympiakos vs Bayern Munich is scheduled for an 8.45 pm local time (12.15 am IST, 7.45 pm BST, 2.45 pm ET) start with live coverage in India on Ten Cricket. The match can also be watched via live streaming online in India (and the rest of the subcontinent) on Ten Sports Live.
Watch the match between Olympiakos vs Bayern Munich live in the UK on BT Sport Extra. The online live stream option is not available in UK.
Audience in the US can catch Olympiakos vs Bayern Munich on ESPN 2, while the match can also be live streamed online on FoxSoccer2Go.
Viewers in Australia, France, Middle East and North African can watch the UEFA Champions League game between Olympiakos vs Bayern Munich live on Bein Sports. They can stream the same on Bein Sports Connect.
Fans in Germany can watch the clash live on TeleClub Sport Live, Sky Sports 1 and HD 1, Sky Sports 3 and HD 3 and Sky GO Deutschland.Live Streaming option is available on ZDF.de, and MDR Info.
Viewers in Greece can catch the UEFA Champions League game live on Nerit 1, OTE Sport 2, Neritan HD and Nerit Sports.
