Panathinaikos vs Maccabi Haifa prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-12-13 17:45.
It’s been a European journey to forget so far for Greek club Panathinaikos, who started in the second qualifying round of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League (UCL) and are now fighting with upcoming opponents Maccabi Haifa for the consolation prize of being able to carry on into the knockout round play-offs of the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL). That’s because, for the fourth consecutive attempt since 2012/13, they’ve failed to finish in the top two of a UEFA Europa League (UEL) group campaign.
Their chances of returning to the preliminary rounds of the next UCL look solid after they returned to winning form earlier this month to retain top spot in the Greek Super League with a sixth win from seven league outings (including a walkover) prior to the recent weekend of fixtures being postponed. They so far haven’t been able to transfer such results onto the continental stage though, even at home, where they’ve won just two of six fixtures across all UEFA competitions since the start of last season (D2, L2).
One of just a small handful of winless clubs in this UEL group stage, Maccabi Haifa have a crystal clear task ahead of them if they are to continue playing European football after the winter: they need to register their first Group F win to leapfrog their Greek opposition into third place.
It seems a remarkably unlikely prospect given they’ve scored just one goal throughout this group stage, with their two points both coming from 0-0 draws. The very busy schedule that has resulted from the club having to catch up on time lost during their month-long hiatus also appears to have taken its toll of late, with their two wins from six competitive games since resuming (D2, L2) both coming at home.
Players to watch: Fotis Ioannidis had a hand in three of Panathinaikos’ goals at the weekend, the fifth of his last eight games for club or country in which he scored. Haifa’s Frantzdy Pierrot has also caught the eye of late, scoring in four of his last ten appearances after his weekend equaliser.
Hot stat: Just one of Maccabi Haifa’s last seven UEFA fixtures saw both teams score.