APOEL's Chiotis full of confidence

Goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis says the experience gained from three winless UEFA Champions League outings will enable APOEL FC to take to the field "with less anxiety and fear" when they welcome FC Porto in Group D on Tuesday.

Qualification hopes
Ivan Jovanović's side made an impressive start to their maiden group-stage campaign when they held Club Atlético de Madrid in Spain, but they have failed to tally another point in subsequent defeats by Chelsea FC and Porto. Despite those results, Greek custodian Chiotis remains optimistic, saying: "We have less anxiety and fear now. We're still the underdogs, but that doesn't mean we don't fancy our chances in this group. We need to beat Porto to keep our chances alive, which won't be easy as some people think."

'Tough competition'
APOEL are enjoying life as only the second Cypriot club to compete at this level, even if Anorthosis Famagusta FC had four points to show from three fixtures in their groundbreaking campaign last season – only to ultimately fall short. "This is now the second half our Champions League campaign," continued Chiotis, 32. "We've faced all three of our opponents and have seen what good sides they all are and what a tough competition this is. But we want more and will give everything we having in our remaining three games in the group."

'Threat'
Chiotis was kept busy during APOEL's 2-1 loss at Porto a fortnight ago, particularly by Hulk, who scored twice and was a constant threat, yet the former AEK Athen FC No1 is wary of worrying about the Brazilian alone. "All their players are dangerous and capable of scoring," he said. "To focus on one player would leave you exposed to the threat of others."