Greek clubs have historically enjoyed facing sides from Kazakhstan in Europe, so Panathinaikos will fancy their chances of following up their opening round win when they travel to Kairat Almaty on matchday two of the UEFA Conference League.
Match News and Current Form
Despite scoring early at Riga last week, Kairat Almaty drew 1-1 so go into this clash still looking for their first win in major European competition (D4, L11). They did bounce back with a 5-0 domestic win over the weekend to keep them in the Kazakhstan Premier League title race with two rounds remaining. Kairat will have to temporarily pause that quest here as they attempt to avoid defeat in successive games in major European competition for the first time ever, but losing five of their seven home matches (D2) in the group/league phase of main draw European competition hardly hints that they can avoid that ignominy here.
Although Panathinaikos only narrowly won their opening game of this season’s Conference League against Borac Banja Luka (2-1), it was still a dominant display, with only Brighton (35) attempting more shots in the first round than Jacob Neestrup’s side (31). At the other end of the pitch, no side faced fewer shots (4) as the Greek outfit extended their impressive form in major European competition to only one defeat from their last ten matches (W4, D5). Another victory will see Panathinaikos record back-to-back wins to start a European campaign for the first time since the 2007/08 UEFA Cup when they won five in a row and will also get their away form back on track after a six-match streak of victories on the road was interrupted by defeat two weekends ago.
Head-to-Head History
Kairat lost their only previous game against Greek opposition 1-0 in last season's UEFA Champions League. Panathinaikos have never taken on a Kazakhstani side before, but Greek clubs are unbeaten in their five previous H2Hs against sides from Kazakhstan in major European competition (W4, D1).
Hot Stats and Streaks
Kairat have scored before half-time in only one of their seven European home group/league phase games.
Only two of Kairat’s last 14 European home matches saw both teams score.
Five of Panathinaikos' last six games in the Conference League proper produced over 2.5 goals.
Panathinaikos scored exactly once in four of their five main draw Conference League away matches.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Marc Gual has scored in five of Kairat’s last six competitive matches (G7), getting the game’s opening goal in each of his last three scoring outings. Cyriel Dessers has scored six times this season, including in both of Panathinaikos’ last two competitive matches, with five of his seasonal goals coming after half-time.
Kairat have no new availability issues, while Azzedine Ounahi is expected to be out for Panathinaikos.
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Betting Analysis
Based on Kairat’s goalscoring issues, backing Panathinaikos to win to nil looks like a strong choice.
Author: Tom Penn