APOEL will be calling on their recent European experience as they look to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Wisla Krakow in the second leg of the Champions League play-off tonight.
The Nicosia side lost 1-0 in the first leg in Poland after a disappointing performance where they failed to get the valuable away goal, however APOEL are confident that home advantage in the second leg can propel them to victory.
In their previous Champions League campaign two years ago, the Cypriot champions lost 1-0 to Copenhagen in the first leg away, but pulled off a stunning performance in the return leg at the GSP stadium to go through to the group stages 3-2 on aggregate.
While coach Ivan Jovanovic has been keen to play down the comparison with the Copenhagen tie, players and fans have been using memories of the 2009 experience to boost their confidence ahead of the difficult encounter.
“We have experience from previous years but we know that these games are very tough and you never know what will happen,” combative midfielder Helio Pinto said ahead of the game. “The first game in Poland was a difficult one, now we have the second game at home and we know this is an advantage for us.”
The 27-year-old Portuguese player has a wealth of European experience with APOEL, and alongside fellow countryman and former Chelsea defensive midfielder Nuno Morais, could hold the key for APOEL’s qualification hopes in the centre of the park as they will look to dictate the tempo of the game.
Wisla demonstrated their strength on the counter in the first leg, and will be relying on their quick midfielders to provide the threat as APOEL will look to go forward in search of a goal.
Pinto knows that APOEL must be wary of their opponents and not leave too many gaps for Wisla to capitalise upon.
“We must be very concentrated in order to succeed,” he said.
While he was adamant that his side had done enough not to deserve to have lost the first leg, Serbian coach Jovanovic has made it clear that he expects a better performance from his own side.
“I am anticipating a different game, especially from my own team and we will need to try harder to overturn the result. I believe that we have the players and the capabilities to get the result we want,” he said.
Greek defender Savvas Poursaitides returns from suspension and is expected to return to the starting line up despite a good performance by Athos Solomou last week. Paraguayan forward Aldo Adorno has not recovered in time for a place in the squad, while Argentine striker Esteban Solari will also miss out through injury.
