Olympiacos v Malmö background

Olympiacos FC retain a slim hope of reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout stage as they host Malmö FF in their final Group A fixture.

• Third-placed Olympiacos sit three points below second-ranked Juventus, but they will leapfrog the Italian side if they beat Malmö and the Bianconeri lose at home to Club Atlético de Madrid.

• As for Malmö, they would snatch third place from Olympiacos – and progress to the UEFA Europa League round of 32 – with victory in Piraeus.

Match background

Olympiacos
• Olympiacos are looking to complete a clean sweep of home wins in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time since 2009/10, having already beaten Atlético (3-2) and Juventus (1-0).

• Overall, the Greek title holders have won their last five home fixtures in the competition, including victories last season against SL Benfica, RSC Anderlecht and Manchester United FC

• Their only previous encounter with Swedish opponents before this campaign was against Östers IF in the 1982/83 European Cup first round (2-0 h, 0-1 a).

• Olympiacos's 4-0 reverse at Atlético on matchday five was their heaviest defeat in UEFA competition since a loss by the same scoreline to Newcastle United FC in the UEFA Cup round of 16 in March 2005.

Malmö
• The only points and goals Malmö have posted so far in their debut UEFA Champions League group stage campaign came with their 2-0 home victory over Olympiacos on matchday two.

• Åge Hareide's side have lost their last three games in Group A without scoring. Moreover, they are on a four-match losing streak away from home, with defeats by AC Sparta Praha (2-4), FC Salzburg (1-2), Juventus (0-2) and Atlético (0-4).

• Qualifying ties aside, Malmö last recorded an away win in the European Cup proper when beating AS Monaco FC 1-0 in the first round in 1978/79 – the season they finished runners-up.

• This is Malmö's 37th European campaign but they had not faced Greek opposition before this season.

Coach and player links
• As Norway coach, Hareide faced Greece in UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying, losing 1-0 at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis before drawing 2-2 at home.

• Olympiacos's Jimmy Durmaz was a Malmö player from 2008 to 2012, making 91 league appearances and scoring 14 goals.

• Durmaz is a team-mate of MFF's Emil Forsberg with Sweden.

• Markus Rosenberg was in the SV Werder Bremen team beaten home (1-3) and away (0-3) by Olympiacos in the 2007/08 group stage. Olympiacos's victory in Bremen on 3 October 2007 was their first away from home in 32 attempts in the UEFA Champions League era.

• Rosenberg's Bremen also lost 3-0 at home to Panathinaikos FC in the 2008/09 group stage.

• Rosenberg was a substitute in Sweden's 2-0 triumph against Greece at UEFA EURO 2008.

• Ibrahim Afellay hit his first two goals for the Netherlands in a 4-1 home success over Sweden in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying in October 2010. Afellay's PSV Eindhoven prevailed 2-1 in Sweden in a 2007/08 UEFA Cup round of 32 tie at Helsingborgs IF (aggregate 4-1).

• Isaac Thelin struck twice in a 23-minute substitute outing for Sweden against Andreas Bouchalakis's Greece in a UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier in Halmstad on 5 September.

Match facts

Olympiacos 
• Giannis Maniatis and Alberto Botía are both a booking away from suspension.

• Kostas Giannoulis returned from three games out with a groin injury as Olympiacos suffered more home disappointment on Saturday with a 2-2 draw against PAS Giannina FC. Luka Milivojević went off with a right knee injury midway through the first half.

• Greek Super League leaders PAOK FC ended Olympiacos's perfect home record this season, beating them 2-1 on 3 December to move five points clear. David Fuster scored a fine volley for the hosts.

• Goalkeeper Roberto is the only player who has not missed a minute of Olympiacos's league and the UEFA Champions League campaigns this season.

• Dimitris Siovas made his first league appearance of 2014 on 30 November, coming on as a substitute in a 4-0 victory at Kerkyra FC. Jorge Benítez made his first league start for the club.

• Míchel has overseen 60 wins in 85 matches in all competitions since his appointment at Olympiacos in February 2013.

• Durmaz is expected to sit out matchday six with a thigh strain sustained during Sweden's friendly against France on 18 November.

• Roberto has saved three of the four penalties he has faced in the UEFA Champions League since joining Olympiacos in summer 2013, denying Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain), Aleksandar Mitrović (RSC Anderlecht) and, crucially in the context of this season's group stage, Arturo Vidal (Juventus). He was beaten from the spot by Robin van Persie (Manchester United FC) in last season's round of 16 second leg.

Malmö 
• Erik Johansson is suspended following his red card against Juventus. Magnus Eriksson and Rosenberg are both a yellow card away from ban.

• Malmö flew to Gran Canaria for a training camp the day after losing 2-0 to Juventus on matchday five.

• Markus Halsti, normally a central midfielder, is expected to cover for the suspended Johansson at centre-back away to Olympiacos.

• Malmö have won just three of their last ten away games in all competitions.

• Malmö's league campaign ended on 1 November. The Blues clinched the Swedish championship with three rounds to spare, a 3-2 victory over AIK Solna on 5 October ensuring they became the first team since 2003 to successfully defend the title.

• Malmö's last domestic outing of 2014 came on 15 November when they needed extra time to win at third-tier IS Halmia in the Swedish Cup second round. Enock Adu (75) made it 1-1, with Rosenberg scoring the winner from the spot after 102 minutes.