Group H Kick-off: 19:45 (BST)
A number of years have passed since Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and his Olympiakos counterpart, Zico, first came up against each other when coaching in Japan.
With both clubs getting off to winning starts in this season’s Champions League, the two coaches meet again both aiming to take control of Group H.
Wenger’s side fought back from 2-0 down to kick off their campaign with a 3-2 win at Standard Liege, while Zico saw his Olympiakos side overcome AZ Alkmaar 1-0 on the day he was appointed coach of the Greek champions.
“Olympiacos are a team that have to be respected,” said Wenger. “They have good experience of the Champions League. They played in it for ten consecutive years so they have good inside knowledge of what it is all about. They are a more robust team than you would perhaps expect of a side from Greece. They have good height and a strong presence in the penalty area.
“I know Zico because when I was in Japan, he was there as well. After that he was the manager of the Japanese national team and took them to the 2006 World Cup, and I still had strong links with the Japanese game.
“[Goalkeeper] Vito Mannone will start again tomorrow. He had a lot of attention [after the 1-0 win v Fulham FC on Saturday]. His confidence is higher now, but of course so are the expectations of him.
Zico said that he was pleased with what he had seen since his arrival in Greece and remained confident that his players could pull off a surprise result tonight.
“I have joined a club where the supporters are used not only to winning, but winning well,” said the Brazilian. “With the quality of players I have here, I’m sure we can do that. We know of the difficulties we face playing against Arsenal – especially in their stadium. But we’ll do all we can to get a good result. We cannot be fearful, we must be brave.
“Our confidence is good and I will field the same team as in the last game [against Panionios GSS]. We are eleven players against eleven and we have to believe that we are their equal.
“I remember Arsene Wenger very well from our time in Japan. I like the way his teams play, with an offensive mentality – it is a philosophy I share. I think he gets the best out of the players he has, and this is the key to his success.
“Arsenal have many players I admire – such as Fabregas, Van Persie and Eduardo. I’m very happy that Eduardo is back from his injury – he spent three weeks recovering at my academy in Brazil. But of course I hope he won’t score a goal against us!”
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