Panathinaikos and Shakhtar Donetsk will get their Europa League third-round qualifying tie underway with a meeting at the Spiros Louis Olympic Stadium. Our Panathinaikos vs Shakhtar Donetsk prediction provides a build-up to Thursday's crunch affair.
Contents
Panathinaikos vs Shakhtar Donetsk prediction: Honours even midway through the tie
Key stats
- Our Panathinaikos vs Shakhtar Donetsk betting tips acknowledge the visitors' blistering start to the new season, which has seen them win four of their five competitive matches so far.
- Panathinaikos, meanwhile, still await their first competitive victory after two matches and are without a clean sheet in four straight matches dating back to preseason.
- Shakhtar have been masters of starting as they mean to go on of late, having broken the deadlock in five of their last seven matches.
- Games involving both of Wednesday's opponents have rarely been ill-tempered, with each of Panathinaikos' last seven games yielding less than five bookings, while only two of Shakhtar's last nine matches have crossed that threshold.
Correct score prediction: Panathinaikos 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Having recently suffered heartbreak in their quest for Champions League qualification, Panathinaikos will have to settle for a place in the Europa League at best, but the challenge of Shakhtar poses a stern first hurdle.
We can see the teams matching each other over the course of the 90 minutes to leave honours even when all is said and done.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Little to choose between the teams
- HOME: 6/4 (2.50) – 40%
- DRAW: 13/5 (3.60) – 27.8%
- AWAY: 8/5 (2.60) – 38.5%
*Odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
Panathinaikos have been given a 40% chance of emerging from Wednesday's first leg as victors, although Shakhtar's 38.5% win probability hints that we have a tight encounter on the cards.
The home side will be aiming to bounce back from their 3-1 aggregate defeat to Rangers in the second round of the UCL qualifiers.
Rui Vitoria's men suffered a 2-0 defeat in the first leg and could only muster a 1-1 draw in last Wednesday's concluding fixture.
On the other hand, Shakhtar will head into their upcoming continental assignment on a high after downing FC Epicentr Dunaivtsi in their league curtain-raiser.
Kaua Elias grabbed the all-important goal 11 minutes from time to narrowly hand Arda Turan's men all three points in a largely one-sided affair.
For more from the upcoming matches, today’s free football betting tips look at some of the best picks.
Most recent H2Hs: Teams set for inaugural meeting
Our Panathinaikos vs Shakhtar Donetsk prediction reveals that Thursday's meeting will see the sides cross paths for the first time ever, despite their respective regularity in European football.
Panathinaikos preview: Georgios Vagiannidis to return in defence
Vagiannidis received his marching orders for two bookable offences in Panathinaikos' first-leg loss to Rangers and was consequently suspended for the second leg.
However, the Greece international is back available and should earn an immediate recall to the XI.
Predicted lineup: Dragowski (GK), Kyriakopoulos, Touba, Palmer-Brown, Vagiannidis, Maksimovic, Chirivella, Bakasetas, Djurucic, Ioannidis & Pellistri
Greece Super League 1 11/05/25
L
Olympiakos
1
Panathinaikos
0
Greece Super League 1 04/05/25
W
AEK Athens
1
Panathinaikos
2
Greece Super League 1 27/04/25
L
PAOK Salonika
2
Panathinaikos
1
Greece Super League 1 13/04/25
W
PAOK Salonika
1
Panathinaikos
3
Greece Super League 1 06/04/25
W
AEK Athens
1
Panathinaikos
3
Shakhtar Donetsk preview: Dmytro Kryskiv headlines list of absentees
Kryskiv is currently nursing a muscle problem and has not featured for Shakhtar since their closing league fixture of last season against Rukh Lviv.
Also unavailable for the Ukrainian giants are Danylo Udod and Lassina Traore, although the latter is not expected to be out for a long time after picking up an injury last time out.
Predicted lineup: Riznyk (GK), Tobias, Bondar, Matviienko, Henrique, Gomes, Alisson, Ocheretko, Pedrinho, Kevin & Kaua
Ukraine Vyscha Liga 09/05/25
D
FC Zorya Lugansk
0
Shakhtar Donetsk
0
Ukraine Vyscha Liga 03/05/25
W
Chernomorets Odessa
0
Shakhtar Donetsk
3
Ukraine Vyscha Liga 27/04/25
D
Dynamo Kiev
2
Shakhtar Donetsk
2
Ukraine Cup 23/04/25
W
Polissya Zhytomyr
0
Shakhtar Donetsk
1
Ukraine Vyscha Liga 19/04/25
L
Kolos Kovalivka
4
Shakhtar Donetsk
2
Player to watch – Kevin
Kevin failed to find the back of the net in any of his six matches prior to the start of the season but has since turned on the style for Shakhtar with four goals in three matches.
The 22-year-old was given a breather in last weekend's league outing and will be raring to go in Thursday's visit to Athens.
Kevin out to continue continental scoring streak
All four of Kevin's goals this term have come on European duty as he netted in the first leg of his side's first-round demolition of Ilves before scoring home and away against Besiktas in round two.
The Brazilian is definitely one to look out for here, and it would not be a surprise if he delivered the goods for his side once again.