Panathinaikos will host Fiorentina at Olympiako Stadio Spyros Louis in the first leg of their Conference League round of 16 clash on Thursday.
The hosts finished 13th in the league phase with 10 points and managed to beat Vikingur Reykjavik 3-2 on aggregate in their round of 16 playoff tie, while the Italian visitors finished third with 13 points and drew 1-1 with Vitoria de Guimaraes in their final league phase game on December 19.
Match preview
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Panathinaikos were beaten 2-1 in the first leg against Vikingur Reykjavik on February 13 but won the second leg 2-0 on February 20, though they failed to produce any big chances during that win and only advanced thanks to Tete's 95th-minute strike to make it 2-0.
PAO ended the league phase of the competition having scored 10 goals and conceded on seven occasions, and these records made them the joint ninth-best defensive and joint 12th best offensive club in the tournament.
The Greek side are currently third in the Greek Super League with 49 points from 25 games and have qualified for the championship playoff rounds.
It should be noted that Rui Vitoria's side have been resilient defensively recently, with his team having kept four clean sheets in their last five outings in the Conference League, winning four of those matches.
The Shamrocks are also unbeaten in their past 14 fixtures at Olympiako Stadio Spyros Louis, emerging triumphant 11 times, including in each of their last five at home.
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Opponents Fiorentina qualified automatically to the round of 16, with the club battling second-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes to a stalemate in their eighth league phase match, a game in which both teams created two big chances.
The Italian side participated in the competition's last two finals, losing 2-1 against West Ham United in 2022-23 and 1-0 against Olympiacos in 2023-24.
Manager Raffaele Palladino's team are currently seventh in Serie A with 45 points, and they are only two points from sixth-placed Bologna and fifth-placed Lazio, who occupy the division's Conference League and Europa League qualification spots respectively.
The Violets come into the clash in poor form having lost three of their four most recent fixtures – conceding five times and scoring one goal in those defeats – though they did win their prior three.
Fiorentina have only triumphed in one of their past seven away outings, losing four and drawing two in that period.
Team News
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The hosts will be unable to call upon attacker Facundo Pellistri as a result of a hamstring injury, and his absence may mean that striker Fotis Ioannidis will be flanked by Filip Duricic and Tete.
Defenders George Vagiannidis and Tin Jedvaj have also been ruled out, and their injuries could lead Panathinaikos to start Giannis Kotsiras, Nemanja Maksimovic, Sverrir Ingason and Filip Mladenovic in the backline.
Midfielders Azzedine Ounahi, Manolis Siopis and Adam Gnezda Cerin played together in the second leg against Vikingur Reykjavik, and they could be rewarded for their strong performances with starts on Thursday.
As for Fiorentina, they will be without forwards Andrea Colpani and Moise Kean, with the latter having collapsed on the pitch following a head injury against Hellas Verona on February 23.
Nicolo Zaniolo and Lucas Beltran are likely to be given the nod up front considering they were paired together in a 1-0 victory last time out against Lecce on February 28.
Cher Ndour, Danilo Cataldi and Rolando Mandragora may feature in a midfield three given Edoardo Bove and Yacine Adli will not be in the starting XI.
Panathinaikos possible starting lineup:
Dragowski; Kotsiras, Maksimovic, Ingason, Mladenovic; Ounahi, Siopis, Cerin; Tete, Ioannidis, Duricic
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Ndour, Cataldi, Mandragora, Gosens; Zaniolo, Beltran
We say: Panathinaikos 1-1 Fiorentina
Panathinaikos will almost certainly be difficult to beat considering their strong form at home, and it would be surprising if they conceded many chances.
However, given Fiorentina's proven track record in the knockout phases of the Conference League, they will back themselves to earn a positive result ahead of the second leg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
