Paksi SE vs Panathinaikos - prediction, team news, lineups

Hungarian broadside Paksi SE are seeking their maiden quality successful the Conference League arsenic they invited Greek giants Panathinaikos to Fehervari uti Stadion connected Thursday for the commencement of their second-round qualifying tie.

Both sides volition beryllium anxious to summation an aboriginal vantage up of adjacent week’s instrumentality limb successful Athens, wherever 1 team’s European ambitions volition travel to an end.

Match preview

Having featured successful Europa League and Conference League qualifiers implicit the past 2 seasons, Paksi person been adjacent to securing continental football, coming nearest successful the 2024 UECL play-offs erstwhile they were beaten by Mlada Boleslav.

Now successful Conference League qualifying for a 3rd consecutive year, Gyorgy Bognar’s broadside person cleared the archetypal hurdle successful each of the past 2 campaigns, defeating AEK Larnaca and Maribor 5-0 and 2-1 connected aggregate, respectively.

However, neither of those opponents boasts the European pedigree of Panathinaikos, meaning Atomcsapat indispensable beryllium astatine their champion to support their cleanable first-round grounds astatine this level.

Paksi concluded pre-season with a 4-1 decision to Austria Wien - different broadside besides successful UECL qualifying - making it 7 goals conceded successful their past 2 outings, an contented they volition request to code up of Thursday’s clash.

After wins successful each of their past 3 competitory location games, scoring 11 goals successful the process, the hosts person shown they person the attacking firepower to occupation opponents successful beforehand of their ain fans, who are anxious to spot Paksi scope the radical signifier of a large European contention for the archetypal time.

Having made 7 Champions League appearances betwixt 2000-01 and 2010-11, Panathinaikos established themselves arsenic regulars connected Europe's biggest stage. However, they person since failed to unafraid UCL qualification, much often competing successful the Europa League oregon Conference League.

A fourth-place decorativeness successful the Greek Super League past play means the Greens volition erstwhile again person to settee for Conference League shot astatine best, present nether Jacob Neestrup, who precocious replaced Rafael Benitez aft the Spaniard’s seven-month stint.

Boasting a wealthiness of European acquisition from his clip astatine FC Copenhagen, the 38-year-old is tasked with starring Panathinaikos backmost to the continental stage, pursuing past season’s Europa League round-of-16 exit to Real Betis.

Off the backmost of triumph successful each of their archetypal 3 warm-up matches, Panathinaikos were brought backmost down to world successful their last pre-season affable - a 4-1 decision to Rapid Wien - with the first-half illness apt to interest Neestrup.

Returning to competitory enactment connected the roadworthy aft ending the 2025-26 run with consecutive defeats to AEK Athens and Olympiacos, Thursday's visitors person not been astatine their champion distant from home, a information that volition beryllium connected the minds of their travelling supporters.

Paksi SE friendlies form:

Panathinaikos friendlies form:

Team News

Twenty-year-old Hunor Kuzma is acceptable to marque his competitory debut for Paksi aft joining from lower-division Bekescsaba 1912.

After a challenging archetypal play with the hosts, Janos Hahn bounced backmost by scoring 11 goals successful 28 appearances past term, making him a subordinate to watch.

Panathinaikos' Cyriel Dessers remains sidelined with a thigh wounded sustained successful December, and the Nigerian guardant is inactive immoderate mode from returning to action.

Erik Palmer Brown is besides unavailable owed to a ft injury, further strengthening Stefan de Vrij’s lawsuit for a spot successful the starting XI.

De Vrij is 1 of 9 caller signings made by the visitors arsenic they hole to situation for home glory this season.

Paksi SE imaginable starting lineup:

Kovacsik; Zeke, Vecsei, Vas, Kuzma, Silye; Peto, Papp, Windecker; Szalai, Hahn

Panathinaikos imaginable starting lineup:

Pena; Kyriakopoulos, Touba, De Vrij, Tsapras; Cerin, Camara; Andino, Taborda, Zaroury; Rastoder

We say: Paksi SE 1-2 Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos person shown important ambition successful the transportation market, and the prime they person added makes them wide favourites to flooded Paksi.

While we expect Paksi to supply a stern challenge, we backmost their Greek visitors to permission Hungary with a constrictive first-leg advantage.

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