Panathinaikos take on the visitors Marseille in the first leg of UEFA Champions League qualification semifinals. The match will be played on Wednesday, August 9th at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium (Athens).
Panathinaikos have already passed the one qualifying round. The Clover team competes for the right to be considered one of the most popular teams in Greek football. Not the most decorated one – that title currently belongs to Olympiacos. However, the only Greek team that has reached the final of a European club competition, the Cup Winners' Cup, was the capital project. This happened in 1971. Also, on the national level, after celebrating their 20th gold in 2010, they haven't managed to achieve much more. Amid mediocre years, under the current coach, Jovanović, they managed to win the cup in 2022, and in the next campaign, they secured a 2nd place. However, this is hardly a triumph – there were good chances for a trophy, but they faltered in the end. Despite this, bolstered by summer signings (Eduard, Vilhena, Gürich, Mladenović, Zeqiri), they entered the Champions League qualification. It went reasonably well, although after a 1-3 defeat to Dnipro-1 in Athens, amid a mass poisoning of players, they managed to bring it to 2-1 in their favor but then conceded and received a red card.
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Marseille are once again entering the Champions League qualification. Olympique bears many similarities to their upcoming opponent. They have had some successes on the international stage, with the highlight being winning the UEFA Champions League in 1993, as well as numerous domestic achievements. Their 9th and most recent championship was secured neatly in 2010. The recent seasons marked a certain resurgence for the Provencal team after a long period of mediocre performances. Both under Sampaoli in the season before last and under Tudor last season, they finished in 3rd place. Clearly, they aimed for more at the Vélodrome, so a new experienced and fairly successful Spanish coach arrived in the summer – Marcelino García Toral. The squad was also significantly revamped: additions included Aubameyang, Ismaïla Sarr, Kondogbia, and Renan Lodi, while they also acquired the contracts of Malinovskyi and Ruben Blanco from Charleroi.
Despite their long and glorious histories, these two clubs have never crossed paths. The Clovers didn't particularly impress, even in comparison to the lackluster Dnipro-1. It is recommended to bet on the fact that the French team will win in the debut match under their new coach.
Prediction for the match: Marseille to win.
