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Panathinaikos will welcome Marseille to the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round on Wednesday.
The hosts booked their place in the third round with a comfortable 5-3 win on aggregate over Dnipro-1 in the second round. They are back in the Champions League qualifiers for the first time since the 2015-16 season and will look to qualify for the group stage for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.
The visitors played in the Champions League group stage last season but failed to make it into the knockout stage as they finished fourth in Group D and did not qualify for the UEFA Europa League knockout round playoffs either.
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The visitors will play their first competitive game of the season on Wednesday. They suffered a 2-1 defeat at home against Bayer Leverkusen in their last friendly in the pre-season.
The hosts played in the third round of the UEFA Europa Conference League last season and were eliminated by Slavia Prague 3-1 on aggregate. They last qualified for a European competition in the UEFA Europa League in the 2016-17 season.
Panathinaikos vs Marseille Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams will meet for the first time on Wednesday.
- The hosts have met French teams 11 times in all competitions thus far, with just three wins in that period. In their 10 meetings against Greek opponents, the visitors have seven wins to their name.
- The visitors have suffered defeats in four of their last five away games in all competitions.
- The hosts are winless in their last three home games in all competitions, though two games in that period have ended in draws.
Panathinaikos vs Marseille Prediction
The Shamrock have recorded just one win in their last seven home games in Europe and might struggle in this match. In the second round, they played a 2-2 draw in the home leg against Dnipro-1. They have suffered just one defeat in their last 10 games in all competitions.
Les Phocéens have suffered four defeats in their last five away games and have suffered defeats in three of their last four away games in European competitions. They will play their first competitive match of the season and might struggle here.
With that in mind, we expect the two teams to settle for a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Panathinaikos 1-1 Marseille
Panathinaikos vs Marseille Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Andraž Šporar to score or assist any time - Yes
