Dnipro-1 - Panathinaikos

Europe - UEFA Champions League, Qualification Rounds

Panathinaikos returns to the UEFA Champions League after 2015, securing 2nd place in the Greek Championship. It appears that they are still recovering from the way they narrowly missed the title, despite dominating for most of the season. Ivan Jovanovic continues as the coach for the 3rd year at Panathinaikos, and the club has made changes in its competitive management model by hiring a technical director, Papadimitriou.

During the friendly matches, Panathinaikos secured 5 victories in their preparation matches in Austria. However, in the 2 matches at Leoforos, they achieved a draw of 1-1 with Hapoel Be'er Sheva and lost 0-1 to Vallecano. The team faced numerous changes during these matches, with the Serbian players not always being part of the starting lineup. One area of concern is their performance in the goal, while the ease with which they accepted phases in the aforementioned friendlies came as an unexpected surprise.

After the signing of Jedvaj (A), no further additions have been made to the team. In terms of departures, Campetsis (E) left for Diosgyor, and Truige (ME) continued on loan at Volos. The team is expected to have a limited number of fans, around 500-700, in the stadium. Their first match of the season in the Super League will be against Atromitos on 19-20/8.

In terms of competition news, Cerin (M) is injured and will not be included in the European list. Ganea (A) has returned to training after dealing with a medical issue but has not been declared fit to play. Similarly, Aitor (ME) traveled to Slovakia but is not available for selection. On the other hand, Zeka (M) was added to the 23rd spot on the eve of the match, replacing Geremegev (E) for tactical reasons.

During a press conference, Jovanovic stated that his team has learned how to win crucial matches. Although he experimented with a 3-4-2-1 formation during pre-season, he is unlikely to deviate from the 4-3-3 formation, which is his preferred tactical setup.

Considering Panathinaikos' overall quality, they are considered to be a stronger team compared to dripno (opponent's name?), making the away side the favored choice.