Comments and predictions for Ajax vs Panathinaikos: The away team will lose
The match between Ajax vs Panathinaikos in the Europa League takes place at 1:15 a.m. on August 16. Nghe An Newspaper compiles statistics, analyzes performance, makes football comments and predicts the score of this match.
Ajax, with a one-goal lead after last week's first leg, host Panathinaikos in Amsterdam on Thursday as they look to progress to the Europa League play-offs. The win in Greece put the Dutch side in control of their third qualifying round tie and off to a successful start to the new season.
Latest Ajax vs Panathinaikos team information
Brian Brobbey returned to the Ajax squad after the post-Euro break last week, but Chuba Akpom, who has started the season, is expected to keep his starting place. Steven Berghuis, replacing the injured Christian Rasmussen, scored from a Kian Fitz-Jim assist and could start alongside Berghuis.
Remko Pasveer, aged 40 years and 277 days, became the first 40-year-old to play an Eredivisie game for Ajax last week; with Geronimo Rulli out on leave, he is expected to continue to start. Steven Bergwijn, suspended for the first leg and Sunday's league game, will return to the squad on Thursday.
Panathinaikos have had a full week of preparation, with the Greek Super League season yet to start. Diego Alonso is likely to retain the same line-up as the first leg, with Adam Gnezda Cerin key in midfield and Alexander Jeremejeff leading the attack. Jeremejeff scored three goals in Europa League qualifying and will start, while Andraz Sporar will be on the bench.
Latest expected lineup for Ajax vs Panathinaikos
Ajax: Pasveer; Rensch, Sutalo, Baas, Hato; Taylor, Henderson, Fitz-Jim; Berghuis, Akpom, Forbs
Panathinaikos: Dragowski; Kotsiras, Ingason, Jedvaj, Mladenovic; Cerin, Arao; Tete, Bakasetas, Djuricic; Jeremejeff
Latest football commentary on Ajax vs Panathinaikos
Following a 1-0 win over Heerenveen in their Eredivisie opener, Ajax continued their impressive start under Francesco Farioli.
Steven Berghuis' decisive goal in the first leg in Athens gave Ajax a slight advantage ahead of the return leg at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. It is the first time this century and in 22 years that Ajax have started a season with four consecutive wins, and eight in total if pre-season is included.
Farioli, who arrived from Nice, has been tasked with rebuilding the team after a difficult 2023-24 season, when Ajax finished fifth. Following a 4-1 aggregate win over Vojvodina, Ajax are now favourites to reach the Europa League play-offs.
Panathinaikos, who have never won a European title, needed to overturn a first-leg deficit. They had chances with Anastasios Bakasetas hitting the crossbar and a goal ruled out for offside, but Alexander Jeremejeff missed a great chance. Former Sevilla coach Diego Alonso replaced Fatih Terim and guided the team through with a 6-1 win over Botev Plovdiv.
If they can't turn things around in the Netherlands, Panathinaikos will likely have to settle for a place in the Conference League play-offs. With Bergwijn and Brobbey back, Ajax have a good chance of winning again and securing a place in the Europa League play-offs.
Ajax vs Panathinaikos score prediction
Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Ajax vs Panathinaikosas follows:
- Sportsmole:Ajax 1-0 Panathinaikos
- WhoScore:Ajax 1-0 Panathinaikos
- Our newspaper predicts:Ajax 2-0 Panathinaikos
When and where to watch Ajax vs Panathinaikos live?
To watch live the match Ajax vs Panathinaikos in the Europa League taking place at 1:15 am on August 16, viewers can watch on K+ Sport or online sports channels. Wishing viewers happy moments of watching football.
