Robert Andrich believes Bayer Leverkusen must "dampen the atmosphere" at Olympiacos to help them get a result in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie.

The two sides have already met on matchday seven in the league phase, with Olympiacos winning 2-0 at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki.

Leverkusen have only won one of their five away games against Greek sides in Europe (4-1 versus Panathinaikos in October 1993), failing to win on each of their four trips there since the turn of the millennium (D2 L2), and failing to score in three of those games.

And of teams with 10+ matches played in the knockout stages of the Champions League, Leverkusen have the worst win percentage (11%), winning just twice in 19 games (D4 L13).

However, after their trip to Greece last month, Andrich is confident that they will fare better this time around.

"We're now familiar with the atmosphere, which can be an advantage," said Andrich.

"It'll be another difficult game. We had some great chances in the league clash that we didn't capitalise on. That contributed to the course of the game.

"Of course, you can't blank out the atmosphere. As a player, you're in the tunnel and don't notice everything, but that, you do notice, of course.

"But starting the game better, coupled with our own quality and our own build-up play and getting the opener, we can dampen the atmosphere. That can make a big difference."

In that 2-0 defeat in the league phase, Leverkusen conceded after just 92 seconds and failed to score despite producing 2.57 expected goals (xG) from 17 shots.

The Werkself, however, have not lost since that match, going unbeaten in their six games since then (W5 D1).

"We're hoping for a better start tomorrow than in last month's game," said Hjulmand.

"It was our last defeat to date. We're aiming for a top performance and are ready for the first of two important games.

"[They have a] very good way of playing football. They play directly and press high to secure second balls. They're one of the top teams in the Champions League when it comes to winning possession high up the pitch."