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Wednesday 27 November 2013

Paris Saint-Germain-Olympiakos Preview: Blanc's side just one win from securing top spot

The French champions have already secured their place in the next round with minimal fuss and never lost to Greek opposition, but Wednesday's visitors are in lethal form

THIAGO MOTTA OLYMPIAKOS PARIS SG CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 09172013

Paris Saint-Germain can seal top spot in Champions League Group C with a home win overOlympiakos on Wednesday.

The French champions have won three and drawn one of their four pool games so far - including a 4-1 victory in Greece in the reverse fixture - and sit three points above their midweek opponents and six clear of third-placed Benfica.

Both PSG and Olympiakos top their domestic leagues and are yet to be beaten in their respective title defences.

Laurent Blanc's side made it 10 victories from 14 Ligue 1 fixtures this term with a comfortable 3-0 win at Reims on Saturday, while their Greek counterparts won their seventh straight Super League game with a 4-1 success over Panthrakikos.

That win extended PSG's undefeated run in all competitions to 34 matches - although they were eliminated on away goals in the 2012-13 Champions League quarter-finals by Barcelona - while Olympiakos are unbeaten in 13 since their loss to les Parisiens in September.

PSG's impressive form both domestically and continentally is in no small part down to the influence of Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The former Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter and Juventus star has netted 16 goals in 18 appearances this term, with his seven strikes in four Champions League outings putting him behind only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo (on eight) in the competition's scoring charts.

Olympiakos' Konstantinos Mitroglou, meanwhile, has been in similarly lethal form for his side, scoring 17 in 15 games, including three in four in the Champions League and three of Greece's four goals in their 4-1 aggregate World Cup play-off success over Romania.

PSG have never lost to Greek opposition - winning seven and drawing one of their eight matches - and are unbeaten at Parc des Princes for 27 matches in all competitions, a streak that goes back to their 2-1 Ligue 1 reverse to Rennes over a year ago.

However, Olympiakos have won their last two fixtures in France and head to Paris with an impressive record of their own to defend, having won 15 and drawn two of their previous 17 away fixtures.

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