After a rather “numb” five-week preparation period (also) due to delays in key transfers, Panathinaikos will play on Thursday night (25/7, 21:00, Cosmote Sport 1) at OAKA their first match in the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League, seeking a score that will give them a strong advantage for progression to the 3rd qualifying round, where (if successful) they will face Ajax or Voivodina.
The transfer of Brazilian Tetê from Galatasaray, which has been “locked in” and is expected to be officially completed within the next few hours, has certainly improved the psychology of the fans of the “green bunch”, however, at this stage, the goal for the “greens” is to do their… job against Botev, who seems determined to do some “damage” ahead of the return leg on August 1st.
Diego Alonso emphasized at the press conference on Wednesday (24/7) that he has finalized the starting eleven for the first match against the Bulgarians. It seems that Yuri Lodygin has the first say for the position between the posts, with Georgios Vagiannidis on the right, Filip Mladenovic on the left, and Bart Schenkeveld and Tin Jedvaj at the center of defense.
In the center of the midfield, the favorite to play alongside Willian Arao is Nemanja Maksimovic (which is why Alonso gave him ample playing time in the last friendly against Maccabi Netanya), while the trio behind the striker will consist of Daniel Mancini (right), Tasos Bakasetas (attacking midfielder), and Filip Duricic (left).
As for the forefront of the attack, Alex Yeremeyev was a starter in all friendly matches during the preparation, but it is not excluded that there could ultimately be a mini-surprise with the presence of Andraz Sporar at “9”, since Fotis Ioannidis is unavailable.
The Panathinaikos squad for the first match against Botev includes Dragowski, Lilo, Kotsiras, Ingason, Vilena, Cherin, Verbic, Baldock, Zeka, and Limnios.