TheSportsCampus

AZ Alkmaar are four points behind Olympiacos FC with just two games remaining but a first UEFA Champions League victory of the season will put Ronald Koeman's side right back in contention for the qualifying places in Group H.

Dutch champions AZ are not having a great season so far as the y are currently placed 6th in the Eridivisie 16 points behind leaders FC Twente. The biggest problem for Alkmaar going into this crunch fixture will be the injuries to their 3 strikers, Mounir El Hamdaoui, Moussa Dembélé and Graziano Pellè, all of whom are likely to sit this one out. That would heap a lot of pressure on Jeremain Lens to deliver in front of goal. Ronald Koeman might also give a debut to young Dutch striker Ali Messaoud considering the importance of winning this game

Olympiacos meanwhile are doing decently on the domestic front and are currently 2nd in the Greek League just 2 points behind Panathinaikos. Their squad too is ravaged by injury, with as many as 9 first team players expected to be unavailable for this game. But a draw is good enough for Olympiacos and they will be banking on experienced players like 38-year old keeper Antonis Nikopolidis, Olof Mellberg, Raul Bravo and Michal Zewlakov to see them through.

The Matchday 1 fixture between the sides came just a day after Olympiacos had parted company with Temuri Ketsbaia and with new coach Zico looking on from the stands. It remained deadlocked until the 79th minute when Vassilis Torosidis headed in Jaouad Zairi's cross to give the home team the win. That 16th September meeting was the first time AZ had failed to beat Greek opponents in an official fixture. Their previous three games had included two at home, beating PAOK FC 2-1 in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup first round and Larissa FC 1-0 in the group stage of the same competition three years later.

Form Guide:

AZ Alkmaar (Last 5 games in all competitions, W-3, L-1, D-1)

Alkmaar 5-2 Spakenburg
Groningen 0-1 Alkmaar
Arsenal 4-1 Alkmaar
Alkmaar 1-1 Feyenoord
Roda JC 2-4 Alkmaar

Olympiacos (Last 5 games in all competitions, W-2, L-1, D-2)

Olympiacos 2-1 Ergotelis
Atromitos 0-1 Olympiacos
Standard Liege 2-0 Olympiacos
Olympiacos 1-1 Iraklis
Giannina 2-2 Olympiacos