With a place in the Conference League's round of 16 up for grabs, Greek side Panathinaikos are set to host Belarusian champions Dinamo Minsk at Olympiako Stadio Spyros Louis on Thursday in their sixth and final league stage game of their European campaign.
The home team are currently 18th with seven points and need just a point to qualify for the round of 16 playoffs after beating The New Saints 2-0 on December 12, while the visitors have three points and must win in order to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
Match preview
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Panathinaikos were utterly dominant against The New Saints, accumulating 64% possession and producing six big chances while facing none themselves.
Manager Rui Vitoria's side are fourth in the Greek top flight with 29 points from 15 games, and their position would be enough to earn them a championship playoff spot.
The Greens are in excellent form given they have won seven and drawn one of their last eight matches, a period that also includes victories in their two most recent Conference League outings.
Vitoria's team have scored 11 goals in their past eight games, conceding just three times while keeping five clean sheets.
The hosts' form at home is mixed considering they have a record of three stalemates, two wins and one defeat in their last six fixtures at Olympiako Stadio Spyros Louis.
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As for the visitors, they come into the clash having beaten Larne 2-0 on December 12 in the Conference League last time out, a result that left them two points from 24th-placed Istanbul Basaksehir, who occupy the final round of 16 playoff spot.
Dinamo Minsk had failed to win any of their prior eight matches in the competition, losing seven times while conceding 16 goals and scoring on just six occasions.
Boss Vadim Skripchenko will be thrilled that his side were able to win the 2024 Belarusian top flight with 68 points after 30 matchweeks.
Skripchenko's team are in poor form considering they have lost three, drawn three and won just two of their eight most recent matches.
The visitors' record on the road is concerning, with the club succumbing to defeat seven times and drawing on three occasions in their last 12 fixtures away from home.
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Team News
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The hosts will be without striker Andraz Sporar, so perhaps Panathinaikos will line up with a front three consisting of Tete, Fotis Ioannidis and Filip Duricic.
Elsewhere, centre-back Bart Schenkeveld is set to be unavailable until late December, and his absence could mean that Tin Jedvaj and Sverrir Ingi Ingason are chosen to start in the heart of defence.
Willian Arao may start as the deepest of three midfielders behind Anastasios Bakasetas and Nemanja Maksimovic.
Meanwhile, Dinamo Minsk are likely to field centre-backs Roman Begunov and Aleksei Gavrilovich in front of goalkeeper Fedor Lapoukhov.
In midfield, the trio of Vladislav Kalinin, Daniil Kulikov and Nikita Demchenko featured against Larne, and the trio could line up alongside each other on Thursday.
Fans can also expect wingers Pavel Sedko and Dmitri Podstrelov to start either side of striker Raymond Adeola.
Panathinaikos possible starting lineup:
Dragowski; Vagiannidis, Jedvaj, Ingason, Mladenovic; Bakasetas, Arao, Maksimovic; Tete, Ioannidis, Duricic
Dinamo Minsk possible starting lineup:
Lapoukhov; Pigas, Begunov, Gavrilovich, Lopes; Kulikov, Kalinin, Demchenko; Sedko, Adeola, Podstrelov
We say: Panathinaikos 2-1 Dinamo Minsk
It would not be surprising if Panathinaikos surrendered possession to the visitors, deciding not to overcommit in the final third and avoid taking any risks.
Given Dinamo Minsk must win, they will have to push forward at some point but given their poor record on the road, it is difficult to see them achieving victory on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
