APOEL ready to apply finishing touch

Constantinos Charalambides said APOEL FC must "convert their chances" as the Cypriot champions prepare to host their rivals for third place in Group D, Club Atlético de Madrid.

Missed chances
Both teams were eliminated from Europe's élite competition on Matchday 4 and are now battling for a place in the UEFA Europa League Round of 32. Ivan Jovanović's side drew with Atlético on the opening day of this season's group stage, but lost their subsequent three games, all by a single goal. Charalambides passed up two presentable opportunities in that match at the Vicente Calderón and, although he acknowledged that APOEL need to be more clinical, he does not feel any more pressure because of those misses. "I don't look at it like that," said the midfielder. "Every game poses different challenges. Sometimes chances go in; sometimes they don't. That's football, but I feel we deserve a win this group because we have played very well."

Profligacy
APOEL's solitary successful group-stage strike to date came courtesy of an own goal by FC Porto's Álvaro Pereira, but the barren spell is not due to a lack of openings, according to Charalambides. "The one thing all our opponents have had in common is that they like to play attacking football, and it is credit to APOEL that we have managed to create good chances," added the 28-year-old Cypriot international. "They are all very good sides and they have not been easy games, that's for sure. But the target now must be to convert those chances."

Setting precedents
Anorthosis Famagusta FC, Cyprus's first ever group-stage participants, were pipped for a place in the UEFA Cup on the final matchday of last year's edition despite collecting six points in their games against FC Internazionale Milano, Werder Bremen and Panathinaikos FC. APOEL can go some way to taking that next step, a first for Cypriot football, with victory over a struggling Atlético side just one point ahead of them in the race for third. Charalambides puts it simply: "We want to win to continue our course in Europe so we need to score on Wednesday night."