Anderlecht and Olympiacos seek ignition

UEFA Champions League Group C rivals RSC Anderlecht and Olympiacos FC have already met this season, the Greek side edging an August friendly 1-0 in Piraeus, but both know Wednesday's rematch will bear little resemblance. Opening-day defeats have increased the pressure, even if visiting coach Míchel is confident his team will learn the lessons of their 4-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain FC.

Anderlecht
John van den Brom, coach
We got a good look at Olympiacos during the friendly we played in August. We also saw their match against PSG. They showed two faces that night: they played a very good first half, supported by their fantastic crowd; in the second half PSG were better and won clearly in the end.

Because we both suffered defeats on matchday one, this game is vital for setting the tone for the rest of our European campaigns. We both need a win. But the role of the coaching staff is to make it clear to the players that we must not over-commit ourselves – we have to remain calm and not try to win it in the first minute, as the match lasts 90.

It is not so important to rank the teams from one to four in the group already. The fact is there are two teams who lost their first match. It was no disgrace for Anderlecht to lose to Benfica and certainly not for Olympiacos to lose to PSG. Both teams still have a chance – we are not out yet.

Every match you play with a plan. It is too simple to play in the Champions League like we do in the league – that is not realistic. Against Benfica our plan failed. We have analysed this opponent too, so we have to make a plan to win this match. We have to be very patient, not expose ourselves to their counters with the very fast players they have up front. We have to prevent that. I only look at ourselves and we must win.

Weekend result
Sunday: Anderlecht 2-0 K. Lierse SK (Gillet 65, Praet 84)
Proto; Gillet, Kouyaté, Mbemba, N'Sakala; Bruno, Kljestan, Tielemans, Acheampong (Milivojević 86); Suárez (Cyriac 77), Praet.

• With 16-year-old Youri Tielemans making only his second Belgian First League start, Anderlecht bounced back from last weekend's 4-0 defeat at Club Brugge KV.

Team news
Van den Brom says Tielemans is "certainly a candidate" to feature, and if he does he will become the third youngest player to grace the competition at 16 years and 148 days. Ronald Vargas is out of action after undergoing surgery on his left knee in July.

Olympiacos
Míchel, coach
We met Anderlecht in August – they play very well and have a good team. We must be confident and remain focused in order to win the game. It is very important that we played in August as both teams could see the other's weak points, and we have improved since then. Our recent performances show we are able to respond during the game, and that is a positive.

We are going to try to win – that is our goal. Losing is not an option for us. Last year we started with back-to-back losses, although we still managed to get nine points in the end [missing out by a point].

We have decided our tactics already. The match against PSG was a good reference point for us. We are on a good level and know we must focus more on the details. We were not inferior to PSG but it was because of the details that we lost. That has been a good lesson for us.

Weekend result
Saturday: Panionios GSS 0-2 Olympiacos (Weiss 61, Saviola 75)
Roberto; Salino (N'Dinga 73), Manolas, Siovas, Holebas; Campbell (Šćepović 57), Maniatis, Samaris, Weiss; Saviola (Domínguez 78), Olaitan.

• Olympiacos remain clear at the top of the Greek Super League, having dropped just two points in their opening six fixtures. Saturday's victory marked an 11th successive clean sheet away from home in the league.

Team news
The Olympiacos treatment room has been congested in recent weeks, but only Paulo Machado (knee) stays there for the trip to Belgium. David Fuster (groin), Sambou Yatabaré (foot), Leandro Salino (hamstring) and Gaëtan Bong (ankle) have all been passed fit after missing out on Saturday, when Kostas Mitroglou was rested.

Match fact
• The last time this fixture was played on the European stage was autumn 1974 in the European Champion Clubs' Cup second round. Anderlecht were 5-1 home winners but had to withstand an almighty second-leg scare in Patras where Maik Galakos scored a hat-trick for Olympiacos, who nevertheless bowed out after managing 'only' a 3-0 success.