Champions League 2015/16 profiles: Olympiakos

Having dominated domestically in Greece throughout their history, and especially in the last decade, Olympiakos will look to make an impact on the European stage, but face stern competition in an extremely tough group.

Alongside the Greek champions in Group F are Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Dinamo Zagreb, a strong list of opponents, making Olympiacos 4/1 with Coral to progress to the next stage of the Champions League.

Domestic league: Superleague Greece

How they qualified: Rallying to their fifth consecutive domestic league crown, the 13th success since the turn of the millennium.

Best Champions League era performance: During the 1998/99 campaign, Olympiakos reached the quarter-finals, narrowly being toppled by Serie A giants Juventus, who would go on to lose to eventual champions Manchester United.

Coach: Portuguese boss Marco Silva only took charge of the Greek champions this year, after a single season with Sporting Lisbon, during which he led them to a Portuguese Cup triumph.

Silva is highly-associated with Estoril, having played for them for six years, before taking charge as manager for a further four. After a decade there, the 38-year-old will look to rebuild his reputation after being sacked by Sporting in June.

Ins and outs: Olympiakos saw plenty of new arrivals this summer, with no less than 14 players coming in permanently, including former Leicester City midfield maestro Esteban Cambiasso.

Along with the stalwart Argentine, exciting Portuguese forward Hernani should provide the club with plenty of attacking intent in Europe, having agreed a season-long loan spell from giants Porto.

Familiar faces: Cambiasso spent a shock campaign with the Foxes in the Premier League last term, having previously plied his trade for the likes of Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

Ideye Brown may be a recognisable face for West Bromwich Albion fans, with the Nigerian attacker sealing a switch to the Greek champions this summer too, after seven goals in all competitions in his final campaign with the Baggies.

Key player: Having arrived from England, former Argentina midfielder Cambiasso is set to become a pivotal player in his new surroundings, a familiar role to the now 35-year-old.

His range of passing and goals from deep will help Olympiakos both domestically and especially in the Champions League, along with his vast experience of Europe’s elite club competition.

One to watch: Kostas Fortounis, a talented attacking midfielder, has been with the club since last year and has quickly developed into a key creative threat. The 22-year-old has begun the current campaign in fine form and that should continue.

Emerging talent: Manchester City youth product Omar Elabdellaoui, now a Norway international could be set for a bright European term, having become a dangerous right-sided wide utility player, featuring both on the wing and at full back.

CL group and fixtures:

Group F

v Bayern Munich (home), September 16th
v Arsenal (away), September 29th
v Zagreb (away), October 20th
v Zagreb (home), November 4th
v Bayern Munich (away), November 24th
v Arsenal (home), December 9th