Olympiacos set for Anorthosis rematch

Olympiacos is set make its season debut in Europe for the 2008/2009 season, with a good result in Cyprus being the objective — the only good result is a win. The Greek Champions meet Anorthosis Famagusta tonight at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca. Olympiacos arrive in Cyprus knowing a win is expected, but their Cypriot opponents are no push-overs.

Anorthosis qualified for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League after eliminating Armenia’s Pyunik Yerevan in the first round, and narrowly escaping against Austrian club Rapid Wien in the second round. Olympiacos, meanwhile, start their Champions League quest in this round.

The Cypriot squad bolsters many familiar faces for Greek football fans, including many who began their careers in Greece; Giannis Skopelitis and Stefanos Voskaridis. Alongside Skopelitis and Voskaridis, Anorthosis has made several talented signings this summer, including recent additions Traianos Dellas and Sávio. Dellas, a Greek international, joins the Cypriot Champions from Greek Super League club AEK Athens. The tall center back has plenty of experience playing against Olympiacos, and will be one of many tough obstacles to overcome.

For Olympiacos, Ernesto Valverde faces his first competitive game at the reigns of the Piraeus club and the pressure to succeed is high. A string of inconistent performances during the club’s off season could leave the club’s supporters worried about this game, but Olympiacos are expected to pass this Cypriot test.  Lineups have not yet been confirmed, but expect a list of the ‘Eruthroleuki’ starters by early tomorrow morning.

On the Anorthosis front — added to the fact no Cypriot club has ever made it to the group stgae of the Champions League — the game against Olympiacos has been dubbed a high stakes revenge match. The hypy ahead of the game in Cyprus is calling the game ‘a chance to get out of Greece’s shadow’; however, in Greece, this is not the case. A rivalry between the clubs, at least from the Olympiacos standpoint, is solely because of the historic tie from ten years ago — Olympiacos knocked out Anorthosis to reach the group stage of the 1998/1999 season. It seems that the game will not be a billed as a club encounter, rather a match featuring the pride of two nations.