Panathinaikos will host Viktoria Plzen at the Spiros Louis Olympic Stadium on Thursday in the first leg of their 2025-26 UEFA Europa League knockout phase clash. The home side have been inconsistent this year, sitting six points adrift of the top four in the Greek Super League, but will hope a change of scenery this week sparks a turnaround for the remainder of their season.

Panathinaikos kicked off their Europa League campaign with consecutive defeats, and although their subsequent improvement was far from outstanding, they did enough to finish comfortably in the top 24. They performed well in their last continental outing, playing out a 1-1 draw with 10-man Roma, but will need to take things up another notch this week if they are to secure a first-leg advantage in the knockout phase tie.

Viktoria Plzen, meanwhile, have hit their stride in recent games and at a timely moment as they seek to progress to the Europa League last 16. The Czech outfit were the only side to remain unbeaten throughout the league phase, but with five draws in eight games, they could only manage a 14th-place finish.

The visitors edged Basel 1-0 in their most recent UEL match and will be looking to follow that up with another show of strength on the road this week.

Panathinaikos vs Viktoria Plzen Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

• Thursday’s game will mark just the second-ever meeting between the two teams, following their league-phase clash back in December, which ended goalless.
• Panathinaikos have faced Czech opponents 16 times in European competitions, winning nine of those encounters, drawing four and losing the remaining three.
• Viktoria, meanwhile, are winless in all four of their encounters with Greek opposition, registering three draws and one loss.
• Viktoria had the best defensive record during the UEL league phase, conceding just three goals in eight matches.

Panathinaikos vs Viktoria Plzen Prediction

Trifýlli’s difficult run of form recently has seen them pick up just two wins from their last nine matches. However, they were by far the more dominant side when the two teams met in December and will be hoping to capitalize this time around.

Viktoria are slight underdogs heading into the midweek clash but boast the much better form, having won five of their last six competitive games. They will likely be satisfied with a draw this week with a view to finishing the job at home next Thursday.

Prediction: Panathinaikos 1-1 Viktoria Plzen

Panathinaikos vs Viktoria Plzen Betting Tips

Tip 1 – Result: Draw

Tip 2 – Goals – Over/under 2.5 – Under 2.5 goals (Seven of the hosts’ last eight matches have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)

Tip 3 – Both teams to score: YES