Preview:Samsunspor vs Panathinaikos - prediction, team news, lineups

One of the ties of the Europa League Playoff round is still finely poised heading into Thursday’s second leg, when Samsunspor welcome Panathinaikos to the 19 Mayis Stadium.

Despite not being the typical opponents you might see in a Turkey versus Greece encounter, the two put on a fine spectacle last week, with Pana leading 2-1 from the first leg in Athens.

Match preview

In their European debut, Samsunspor almost caused a bit of a shock in Greece last Thursday, as Logi Tomasson gave the Turks the lead early in the second half.

However, Rui Vitoria’s men used all of their expertise and experience to turn the game around in eight second-half minutes, as Georgios Kyriakopoulos and Erik Palmer-Brown netted to give the Greek giants a lead at the midway point of the tie.

That was just Panathinaikos’s second win against a Turkish club in their history, and there is no guarantee they will follow it up with another, after encountering some difficulties in that first leg.

Vitoria’s side are looking to improve on reaching the Conference League last season by upgrading to the Europa League, a competition they have only reached once since 2016.

Any dreams of a first Champions League appearance since 2010 were dashed in disappointing circumstances to Rangers, but they took the scalp of Shakhtar Donetsk in the previous round of Europa League qualifying, winning on penalties after a goalless 180 minutes.

Pana’s clash with OFI Crete was postponed at the weekend in order to give them more preparation for this trip to Samsun, and that could be key, as the Turkish side showed many in the Super Lig last season just how threatening they can be.

Thomas Reis’s men stunned Turkish football by finishing third in the Super Lig, their best ever league finish, pipping Besiktas to that spot, and ensuring league phase football of some variety this season.

Samsunspor have made a strong start domestically, beating both Genclerbirligi and Kocaelispor, before their clash with Kasimpasa was postponed with this fixture in mind.

Reis’s side failed to beat any of Turkey’s Big Three last season though, so there are some question marks around their big-game capabilities, especially ahead of a second leg they have to win to have any chance of progression.

Samsunspor Europa League form:

Samsunspor form (all competitions):

W W L

Panathinaikos Europa League form:

D D W

Panathinaikos form (all competitions):

L D D D W

Team News

Samsunspor have been unable to hand a debut to Anthony Musaba yet this season following his move from Sheffield Wednesday due to injury, while Carlo Holse also missed the first leg in Greece.

The hosts have been active in the market lately though, adding centre-back Toni Borevkovic from Guimaraes and offensive player Afonso Sousa from Lech Poznan, but neither have been handed their debuts yet.

Panathinaikos made the notable acquisition of Renato Sanches on loan from Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend, but the former Golden Boy winner has not kicked a ball in over two months, and will most likely miss out.

With Georgios Vagiannidis moving to Sporting Lisbon, Pana have added the experienced Davide Calabria on a free transfer, and he played his first 30 minutes for the club last week, but Giannis Kotsiras could keep his place at right-back.

Alban Lafont has also been brought in on loan from Nantes, but former Fiorentina stopper Bartlomiej Dragowski has retained his place in goal since the Frenchman’s arrival.

Samsunspor possible starting lineup:

Kocuk; Yavru, Satka, Van Drongelen, Tomasson; Ntcham, Makoumbou, Yuksel; Dimata, Mouandilmadji, Kilinc

Panathinaikos possible starting lineup:

Dragowski; Kotsiras, Palmer-Brown, Touba, Kyriakopoulos; Bakasetas, Pedro Chirivella, Gnezda Cerin; Tete, Swiderski, Pellistri

We say: Samsunspor 1-1 Panathinaikos (2-3 agg.)

It will be far from straightforward for Panathinaikos, as Samsunspor’s first-leg performance showed, but the quality in their ranks should be enough to give them the edge.

Samsunspor were delighted to finish third last season, knowing it would guarantee Conference League football even if they lost this playoff, and that is what they may have to settle for, despite a valiant effort.

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