Today at 2:45 p.m. ET from Karaiskaki Stadium in Athens, Greece, Olympiakos will host Benfica for some Group C UEFA Champions League action that can be live streamed here. Both sides have one win, one loss, and one draw heading into this crucial match.
Benfica will be down a striker today, as 22-year-old Rodrigo will miss the match because of a knee injury. "He wasn't an option. We didn't want to risk him, which is why he isn't in the squad," said Benfica coach Jorge Jesus.
Despite the injury to Rodrigo, and his side facing an away game, Jesus believes this team has what it takes to reach the knockout stages, which would be a near-certainty with a win today.
"Olympiacos have good players. In the Champions League any team can win home or away and we have to get a victory in at least one of our away matches."
He was careful not to term this difficult matchup a must-win, but stressed its importance all the same. "The match on Tuesday isn't a 'final', we still have two games to come, but it's a Champions League match and they are all important. The two teams are level on points and we have to think game to game."
Olympiakos has a strong offense, and has scored five goals in three matches thus far in Champions League play. They also have netted 16 goals in their last four Greek Super League contests. Kostas Mitroglou in particular poses a huge threat, with four hat tricks this year.
Unfortunately, that high-scoring offense hasn't translated to a great point differential-Olympiakos has also surrendered five goals knocking that key statistic down to zero.
Head coach Michel is hoping for stronger defense, while expecting continued output when they have the ball. "They respond well to all challenges. I'm confident we will advance to the next round."
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