Neftci Baku’s impressive run of 11 matches without defeat in all competitions was brought to a sudden end in last week’s 1-0 defeat in the 1st leg of this 2nd qualifying round tie in the Champions League against Greek side, Olympiakos, and they now return to their Bakcell Arena looking to overhaul this one-goal deficit.
Previously, Neftci had picked up eight wins during this recent 11-match period which included a 4-2 win on aggregate against Georgian outfit, Dinamo Tbilisi, in the previous qualifying round of this season’s Champions League competition.
The Azerbaijan hosts had earlier claimed the domestic top flight Premyer Liga title by a slender two-point margin over runners-up, Qarabag, which handed Neftci Baku qualification for the early rounds of this season’s Champions League.
However, Neftci’s results on the Champions League stage haven’t been so convincing as the hosts have managed to win just two of their last eight ties overall.
So despite holding home advantage in this return leg, still face a tough prospect in the shape of Olympiakos.
Onto the Greek visitors then, and Olympiakos now have something to protect as they prepare for this trip to Azerbaijan, holding a slender one-goal lead but nevertheless, a crucial lead nonetheless.
Since the end of last season’s Greek Super League 1 campaign, Olympiakos have been busy with their pre-season preparations which have seen the visitors lose just two of their six warm-up games, while picking up three wins in the process.
Last week’s 1st leg 1-0 win was Olympiakos’s first competitive match this season but they are certainly no strangers to the quality and competition of the Champions League.
Although they finished up in 3rd place in last season’s Group C (where they had to contend with the likes of Manchester City and Porto), that experience will have been invaluable.
As it was, Olympiakos then went onto the knockout rounds of the Europa League by virtue of that 3rd place finish in the Champions League where they duly knocked out PSV 5-4 on aggregate, but then narrowly lost 3-2 on aggregate to Premier League Arsenal.
Neftci face a tough 2nd leg here against a strong and experienced Olympiakos outfit at this level and this could signal the end of the road for the Azerbaijan side.