Panathinaikos vs Villarreal Tips & Preview - Goals expected in Europa League opener

By Ryan Allan

19 Sep 2023

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Ryan Allan 19 Sep 2023

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Panathinaikos vs Villarreal meet in the Europa League (17.45 BST on Thursday)
This match takes place at Olympiako Stadio Spyros Louis
Goals expected in Europa League opener in Athens

Expired

Villareal (Getty Images)

Panathinaikos vs Villarreal Predictions

A tough one to call but BTTS has been a consistent outcome in Villarreal matches in 2023, so I´ll take a chance on both scoring in Athens.

Panathinaikos vs Villarreal Predictions
Head to Head
Panathinaikos Form
Panathinaikos Team News
Villarreal Form
Villarreal Team News

Despite an indifferent start to the campaign, I also fancy the out-of-form Spaniards to steal a narrow away victory.

Panathinaikos have scored at least 1 goal in 9 of their last 10 competitive games.
Panathinaikos have seen BTTS in 4 of their last 6 European games.
Villarreal won 2-1 when the sides last met in Athens in 2009.
Villarreal have seen BTTS in 14 of their 16 previous competitive matches.

Head to Head

Thursday´s Europa League contest in Athens will be the third match between Panathinaikos and Villarreal.

The Yellow Submarine claimed a 3-2 aggregate Champions League round of 16 victory in their only previous meeting back in 2009 after a 1-1 draw and 2-1 victory.

Panathinaikos Form

Last season´s Greek Super League runners-up Panathinaikos have made a perfect start to their domestic campaign with three wins from three.

Ivan Jovanović´s side maintained their 100% record with a dominant 5-0 road win against Panaitolikos this past weekend.

However, the Greens failed to reach the Champions League after a 3-1 aggregate loss against Portuguese outfit Braga in August.

Panathinaikos Team News

Panathinaikos will likely remain unchanged after a dominant 5-0 win in the Greek Super League on Sunday.

Brazilian playmaker Bernard is a near-cert to start after his impressive hat-trick against Panaitolikos.

Villarreal Form

Villarreal make the journey to Greece boosted by a much-needed come-from-behind victory against Almeria on Sunday.

Quique Setién’s side had lost three of their first four league games of the season before their

2-1 win at the Estadio de la Cerámica.

The Yellow Submarine have lost just one of 13 previous away Europa League games since 2018.

Villarreal Team News

Quique Setién has reported no further injury concerns after Villarreal´s nervy win against Almeria on Sunday.

Francis Coquelin and Alberto Moreno remain on the long-term injury casualty list.

Verdict

Panathinaikos v Villarreal

Panathinaikos have a poor record in Europe while Villarreal are considerably more experienced at this level. I'm focusing on goals with BTTS offering some value with visitors backed to edge it.

BTTS Yes

Both Teams To Score

@7/10 - 3 Units

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Villarreal Win

Full-Time Result

@11/10 - 1 Unit

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