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Greeks keen to move on Olympiacos will look to put their agonising Champions League exit behind them when they begin their Europa League campaign at Rubin Kazan.

The Greek champions looked certain to secure a place in the knockout phase of Europe's premier club competition moments before the end of the final Group F fixtures just over two months ago.

But Marseille then scored twice in the final five minutes of their match at Borussia Dortmund to snatch second place and leave previously-jubilant Olympiacos fans stunned.

Ernesto Valverde's men have seemingly refused to wallow in the misery of such a cruel denouement, winning 11 and losing just one of their subsequent 13 matches to lie just two points behind Panathinaikos at the top of the Greek Super League.

But memories of their Champions League failure will doubtless return to the forefront of their minds when they take to the field in Russia tomorrow.

In fact, the field they take to will be an artificial one, with the first leg of the last-32 tie having been moved from Kazan to Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

The match will also kick off at 3pm local time due to the freezing conditions that are expected in the Russian capital.

Rubin coach Kurban Berdyev does not necessarily expect the conditions to work in his side's favour, though.

Indeed, he revealed the club had tried to gain permission to play the match in Turkey, but were denied by UEFA.

"I would not say that these conditions are to the advantage of either side," he was quoted as saying on www.sport-express.ru. "If you remember, last year we played Twente when it was at the same temperature and lost.

"[But] this is a different team with a different style of play." Rubin have not played a competitive match since the dramatic conclusion to their own qualification for the knockout stage.

Kurban Berdyev's side were certain of their place going into the final round of matches, barring a pair of freak results.

But events almost conspired against them as Tottenham narrowly failed to pull off the impossible and snatch second place in Group A.

Since then, Rubin have been restricted to friendly matches, something which has arguably cost them in the Europa League in the last two seasons and which Berdyev sees as an advantage for the Greeks.

Rubin Kazan vs Olympiacos

Last modified 16:22 14/02/12

Olympiacos snatch narrow lead Roy Carroll and David Fuster were Olympiacos' heroes as the Greek champions took a significant step towards the last 16 of the Europa League with a 1-0 first-leg victory over Rubin Kazan in Moscow.

Fuster netted the only goal of the game in the 72nd minute but veteran goalkeeper Carroll, on his debut, also played a key part in the win by saving a penalty from Bebras Natcho with his first touch after coming on in the 73rd minute.

The 34-year-old Carroll, who only joined the club last month, was called into action after first-choice goalkeeper Balazs Megyeri had been shown a red card in conceding the spot-kick with a foul on Gokdeniz Karadeniz.

The 10 men of Olympiacos then held out for the final 17 minutes at the Luzhniki Stadion to record a victory which put them in pole position to progress to the next phase.

Rubin, playing their first competitive match since last year due to the winter break in Russia, found themselves on the back foot early on as Olympiacos enjoyed the better start, but Fuster and Ivan Marcano were unable to make the most of their openings for the visitors as the first half finished goalless.

The second period provided more incidents, beginning with a Nelson Haedo Valdez effort for Rubin in the 47th minute that forced a good save out of Megyeri.

Valdez then saw a long-range effort go harmlessly wide before Olympiacos took the lead midway through the half.

Rubin did not clear Giannis Maniatis' inswinging corner and Spaniard Fuster took advantage to strike a rising shot into the net, with Natcho unable to keep the effort out on the line.

That away goal was just what Olympiacos would have been hoping for, but things could have turned around dramatically 60 seconds later when Rubin won a penalty and the visitors were reduced to 10 men.

However, former Manchester United and Northern Ireland goalkeeper Carroll climbed off the bench - with goalscorer Fuster the man to make way - to superbly keep out Natcho's spot-kick and keep his side ahead.