Advantage Chelsea after Athens stalemate

Chelsea FC hold the advantage in their first knockout round tie with Olympiacos CFP after a goalless first leg in Athens boosted the London club's hopes of reaching their fourth UEFA Champions League quarter-final in the last five years. The Greek champions, appearing in the knockout stages for the first time since 1998/99, know that their participation in this year's tournament will come to an end unless they can win or secure a scoring draw at Stamford Bridge.

• Panagiotis Lemonis's men were satisfied with their efforts in a closely contested first leg but were left disappointed by their inability to find the net having enjoyed the lion's share of possession and chances at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. Chelsea manager Avram Grant said it was the worst his team had played in Europe since he took charge following Matchday 1.

• Chelsea are unbeaten in this year's competition but their home form does not suggest the Piraeus giants need fear their trip to London. Of the three games at Stamford Bridge, two ended in draws, 1-1 against Rosenborg BK and 0-0 against Valencia CF. The other ended in a 2-0 victory against FC Schalke 04 as Grant's side finished on top of Group B with 12 points.

• The home team will nevertheless believe the omens point to them making progress. At this same stage a year ago, Chelsea drew 1-1 away to FC Porto before winning the home leg 2-1, having been behind in each match. In their only previous home meeting with Greek opponents, the 1970/71 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round tie with Aris Thessaloniki FC, they triumphed 5-1 and it proved a stepping stone on their way to lifting the trophy, beating Real Madrid CF after a replay in the Athens final.

• The London side have made a habit of leaving opponents frustrated in the competition this season, not conceding a goal in their last five outings and remaining unbreached for a total of 531 minutes since David Villa scored in the ninth minute for Valencia CF on Matchday 2.

• As they look to extend their run of successive home games without defeat in all competitions to 60 – they are unbeaten in their last nine home games in this competition, a run that includes six wins and three draws since FC Barcelona ran out 2-1 winners at Stamford Bridge in the 2005/06 first knockout round first leg – Chelsea will take careful note of Olympiacos' record which shows two wins in their three group games played away from Athens. The Greek side won 3-1 at Werder Bremen and 2-1 in Italy against S.S. Lazio and a repeat performance will put them into the last eight of the continent's most prestigious club competition for the first time in nine years.

• A look at Olympiacos' previous visits to England for competitive fixtures will not fill the Greek side with confidence, however. They have lost on all seven visits and apart from the 2000/01 UEFA Cup third round second leg at Liverpool FC, a 2-0 defeat, have always conceded three or four goals in the match leaking 24 in total. Their last visit, for a Round of 16 second-leg game at Newcastle United FC in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup, stayed faithful to that template as they went down 4-0.