Olympiacos seek quarter-final lift

Laurent Blanc could have been speaking for either team when he called on his FC Girondins de Bordeaux side to "recover our spirit of 2009" ahead of the UEFA Champions League meeting with Olympiacos FC. The French titleholders have the edge following their 1-0 victory in Piraeus three weeks ago and Olympiacos's run of just five wins in 13 outings is hardly daunting. Yet coach Božidar Bandović believes that with cohesion and the luck that deserted them in the first leg, his side could "be among the eight best teams in Europe" come Wednesday night.

Laurent Blanc, Bordeaux coach
Olympiacos have to score to qualify. This is an advantage for us. We will try and score several goals then control the game. I have a lot of respect for [Olympiacos] but I want to beat them to go through to the next round. I think Bordeaux will make it. We need to be solid and I hope my players can recover the competitive spirit we've been lacking of late. Without that spirit we will have difficulties in this competition and Ligue 1.

Since the end of 2009 Bordeaux have gone through some tough times, but thanks to our form before Christmas we're still in the competition. I hope my players realise this bad patch has to stop. I expect a big match from my players. I want to recover our spirit of 2009 and keep it until the end of the season.

Božidar Bandović, Olympiacos coach
The second half of this tie starts tomorrow. Bordeaux are in front but we will give it our all to qualify. This game is very important because we could get into the quarter-finals, among the eight best teams in Europe. We were unlucky in the first leg. We created opportunities but simply could not score. It is now up to us to reverse the scoreline. We have to be balanced and strong. We need to work as a team to achieve anything here.

Team news
Bordeaux
Out: Marc Planus (knee)
Doubtful: none
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Marc Planus, Michaël Ciani

• Alou Diarra has been troubled by a hamstring injury but played 45 minutes against AJ Auxerre last Wednesday before managing 90 at AS Monaco FC on Saturday.

Olympiacos
Out: Diogo (torn hamstring), Dudu (right foot), Didier Domi (foot)
Doubtful: none
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Dudu, Raúl Bravo

• Kostas Mitroglou broke his nose earlier this month but returned at the weekend without a protective mask.

Weekend results
13/03/2010 AS Monaco FC 0-0 Bordeaux

• Six changes were made to the side that lost 2-1 at Auxerre, with Planus injured and Matthieu Chalmé, Jussiê, Yoann Gourcuff, Marouane Chamakh and Fernando Cavenaghi rested or on the bench.

• Bordeaux remain top of Ligue 1, level on points with Montpellier Hérault SC but ahead on goal difference, despite picking up just two points from their past three Ligue 1 games.

13/03/2010 Olympiacos 2-2 PAS Giannina FC
(Derbyshire 38, LuaLua 45; A Papadopoulos 37og, Mellberg 54og)

• Avraam Papadopoulos and Olof Mellberg both deflected shots into their own goal. Mellberg headed against the post late on but Olympiacos,  third in the Super League, have only three wins in seven home games.

Background
• The most successful side in the group stage with five wins and a draw, Bordeaux won all three home games and conceded just once.

• Olympiacos, the first Greek visitors to Bordeaux, are hoping to become only the second team in UEFA Champions League history to progress after a home first-leg defeat; their local rivals Panathinaikos FC fell to AFC Ajax in the 1995/96 after winning 1-0 in Amsterdam but losing 3-0 in Athens.

Team Ties
• Blanc played in Manchester United FC's 3-0 and 4-0 home wins against Olympiacos in the 2001/02 and 2002/03 UEFA Champions League group stages, as well as both their away victories.

Did you know?
• Bordeaux have never been knocked out following 12 away first-leg wins in UEFA competition.

Read more on the match in the official UEFA Champions League press kit.