It is a battle between the top two in Group F of the Europa League as Rennes host Panathinaikos on Thursday. The French side edged a closely fought encounter in the reverse fixture and should earn a similar result at Roazhon Park on Thursday.
Rennes are setting the pace in Group F and are well on course to reach knockout stage as they sit two points clear at the top of the standings. They picked up a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture with Panathinaikos with goals from Amine Gouiri and Arnaud Kalimuendo getting the goals.
The Europa League has been a refuge for Rennes in recent weeks as that has been their only win in the last six mashes across all competitions. Bruno Genesio’s men head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 2-0 Ligue 1 defeat to Nice.
While things have been rough for Rennes, Roazhon Park has remained a fortress with just one defeat in their last six home matches. They have picked up a few one sided wins in that run, including a 5-1 victory over Metz and the 3-0 hammering of Maccabi Haifa on match-day one of the Europa League.
Panathinaikos are two points off the pace in Group F having suffered just the aforementioned defeat so far. However, their Europa League campaign appears to be on the downward spiral as they began with a win and a draw from their opening two matches before falling last time out.
The Greek giants have impressed in recent weeks and have suffered just one defeat in their last eight matches across all competitions. They have won four of the last five matches in that run, including a 2-1 victory at Lamia in a Super League fixture.
That result extends a solid away record for Panathinaikos, who have also looked solid on their recent travels. Ivan Jovanivic’s men are unbeaten in their last six matches across all competitions on the road, claiming five wins in that run.
How the bookies view it
Rennes have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 8/13 by bet365. A victory for Panathinaikos is valued at 4/1 by Paddy Power while William Hill is offering odds of 16/5 for a draw.
Head to head
The reverse fixture was the first ever meeting between Rennes and Panathinaikos.
Players to watch
Amine Gouiri and Arnaud Kalimuendo have caught the eye for Rennes in recent weeks with both men on target in the reverse fixture. Kalimuendo to score anytime is priced at 21/10 by Unibet, who is offering similar odds on Gouiri in the same market.
Fotis Ioannidis is the man often tasked with leading the line for Panathinaikos and could be worth keeping an eye on. The forward was on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 19/5 by Unibet to find the net on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There were goals for both teams in the reverse fixture and a similar outcome is priced at 4/5 by bet365. That clash also produced over 2.5 goals which is priced at 4/5 by William Hill while over 3.5 goals is priced at 2/1 with Paddy Power.
Rennes are priced at minimal odds for a straight victory, so a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered for more value at 7/5 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Europa League match between Rennes and Panathinaikos will be played on Nov 9, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Rennes vs Panathinaikos prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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