Panathinaikos welcome Samsunspor to the Athens Olympic Stadium for the first leg of their Europa League playoff. The Greeks will be counting on their experience in European competition, while the visitors are showing some good form at the moment.
Panathinaikos advanced to the play-off round after eliminating Shakhtar Donetsk in the third qualifying round. They saw off the Ukrainian side 4-3 on penalties after battling to 0-0 draws across the two legs.
Rui Vitoria's men are unbeaten in four of their last five matches in all competitions, although only two of those outings have been wins. The Greeks will be banking on some home advantage, having gone unbeaten in five of their last six matches in front of their fans.
Samsunpor will be making their first appearance in the Europa League after finishing third in the Turkish Super Lig last season. They come into this game off the back of a 1-0 win over 10-man Kocaelispor at the weekend and sit fourth in the league standings.
Thomas Reis’ men are on a decent run of form with seven wins in their last 10 matches in all competitions. They are also unbeaten in four of their last five away matches.
How the bookies view it: Bookies backing Panathinaikos
The bookies have installed Panathinaikos as overwhelming favourites, with a home win priced at 4/9 by BoyleSports. A victory for Samsunspor is valued at 9/2 while a draw is set at odds of 14/5.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
There are no previous matches between Panathinaikos and Samsunspor.
Players to watch: Eyes on Ioannidis
Filip Ioannidis scored 11 goals for Panathinaikos in all competitions last season and could be the one to watch on Thursday. He has a good understanding with Filip Djuricic, who also scored 11 goals last season, and both men could produce over 1.5 goals – available at 8/13 with BoyleSports.
Marius Mouandilmadji is the leading man for Samsunspor and could be worth keeping an eye on, having already got off the mark this season. With Muja Arbnor also featuring in attack, they could produce over 0.5 goals for the visitors (Over 0.5 goals – offered at 8/13).
Probable line-ups:
Bartlomiej Drągowski should start in goal for Panathinaikos, while Giannis Kotsiras, Erik Palmer-Brown, and Ahmed Touba are expected in defence. Nemanja Maksimovic and Pedro Chirivella could get the nod in midfield, with Ioannidis, Tete and Karol Swiderski in attack.
For Samsunspor, Okan Kocuk is likely to start between the sticks, with Zeki Yavru, Ľubomír Satka and Rick van Drongelen as part of a four-man defence. Celil Yuksel and Olivier Ntcham should remain as the midfield base; Landry Dimata and Emre Kilinc are on the wings, with Mouandilmadji expected to supply the goals.
Panathinaikos: Dragowski, Kotsiras, Palmer-Brown, Touba, Kyriakopoulos, Chirivella, Maksimovic, Pellistri, Tete, Ioannidis, Swiderski
Samsunspor: Kocuk, Yavru, Satka, Van Drongelen, Tomasson; Yuksel, Ntcham, Dimata, Holse, Arbnor, Mouandilmadji
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in five of Samsunspor’s last seven matches (BTTS YES – valued at 10/11 with BoyleSports). Those five fixtures have also produced over 2.5 goals – priced at 20/23 with BoyleSports.
There have been goals in each half in three of Samsunspor's last five matches (Goal in each half – set at odds of 3/4). Four of Panathinaikos' last six matches have produced more goals after the break (Second half most goals – available at Evens).
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