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Panathinaikos vs Chelsea Preview, Prediction, Team News and Predicted Lineups
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Get to know Cai Parry betterPublished23 Oct 2024
Chelsea return to Conference League action with a trip to Athens to take on Panathinaikos on Thursday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups, as well as a score prediction included in our preview.
Panathinaikos vs Chelsea Preview
Enzo Maresca and his Chelsea side head to the Greek capital to take on Panathinaikos in their second Conference League league phase fixture on Thursday, where they’ll be hoping to make it two wins from two so far in the competition.
The Blues got their league phase campaign underway at the start of the month with a 4-2 win against Belgian outfit Gent at Stamford Bridge, which extended their winning run to five straight matches across all competitions.
Since then though, they have failed to win two games on the bounce, first drawing 1-1 against Nottingham Forest before falling to a 2-1 defeat against Liverpool. Sunday’s loss at Anfield leaves Chelsea in a respectable sixth place in the Premier League table, having only lost just two of their opening eight league matches.
A trip to Greece for Panathinaikos (A). ✈️🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/aPYIfhHZ7S
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 22, 2024
Panathinaikos, meanwhile, head into continental action, also occupying sixth place in their domestic league, having ended a three-game winless run with a 1-0 triumph over OFI on Sunday evening.
As for their Conference League opener, despite initially taking the lead after 11 minutes in Banja Luka, they were held to a 1-1 draw against Bosnian side Borac.
Unsurprisingly, the visiting Blues are heavily favoured by the UK’s best football betting sites to claim all three points at the Spiros Louis Olympic Stadium at around 4/7, while Panathinaikos are rated at around 19/4 to record a shock victory.
Panathinaikos Team News
Thursday’s hosts are without captain Fotis Ioannidis due to an adductor injury, as well as Dimitris Limnios, Zeca and Tonny Vilhena after the trio were omitted from the Greek outfit’s squad for the competition.
Facundo Pellistri, recently signed from Manchester United, should comprise part of Panathinaikos’ attack, as should Anastasios Bakasetas, who featured against England for Greece in the Nations League earlier this month.
Slovenia international Andraz Sporar is a doubt for the fixture after missing the win over OFI due to illness, which could open the door for a second successive start for Swedish striker Alexander Jeremejeff.
Chelsea Team News
The Blues are without star man Cole Palmer for their trip to Greece, as the 22-year-old has not been included in their Conference League league phase squad due to load management, alongside Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana.
Meanwhile, Omari Kellyman is ruled out with a hamstring issue, and goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is a doubt due to a head injury, with the Swede due to be assessed ahead of kick off on Thursday.
Club captain Reece James made his first start of the season against Liverpool at the weekend after returning from a hamstring injury, however it is expected that he will return to the bench as Maresca looks to manage his minutes while he builds up his match fitness.
Panathinaikos vs Chelsea Predicted Lineups
Panathinaikos Predicted Lineup:
Dragowski; Kotsiras, Jedvaj, Ingason, Mladenovic; Maksimovic, Cerin; Pellistri, Bakasetas, Duricic; Jeremejeff
Chelsea Predicted Lineup:
Jorgensen; Gusto, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Veiga; Casadei, Dewsbury-Hall; Neto, Felix, Mudryk; Nkunku
Panathinaikos vs Chelsea Prediction
Despite not having the seemingly unstoppable Palmer at their disposal, we believe Chelsea have plenty in their locker to beat Panathinaikos, and we expect them to do so by a comfortable margin.
The Blues will undoubtedly be looking to return to winning ways after playing out a draw and a loss in their last two fixtures, and what better opportunity to do so than against a Panathinaikos side who have won just two of their last seven matches across all competitions?
Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk and Christopher Nkunku, as well as the other options available to Maresca in attack, all have the ability to cause the hosts’ defence some real problems, which will surely result in plenty of goals for the West Londoners.
Prediction: Panathinaikos 0-3 Chelsea