Panathinaikos vs Marseille Prediction: Expect a Draw?

In the first match of the third qualifying round of the Champions League Panathinaikos will host Marseille. This match will start on August 9. The French club is considered the favorite, but it will be difficult to achieve a positive result in Greece, Panathinaikos will be supported by the home stands.

In the previous qualifying round of the Champions League, Panathinaikos played two meetings with Dnipro, in both games a 2:2 draw and a 3:1 win for the Greek team. Before that, the team played six friendlies during the pre-season tour. Panathinaikos showed a good level - four wins, one draw, and a defeat from Rayo Vallecano. Recall that the team finished second in the Greek league in the previous campaign and lost to AEK by five points.

Marseille is just preparing for the first official appearance in the 2023-24 campaign. The French club played four friendlies in the summer, in which, to be fair, they showed unstable play. The pre-season began with a win over Nîmes, with the favorite scoring two unanswered goals. Next, the club lost to Belgian Eupen 0:1. Against the Dutch Waalwijk, the team played better - a victory with a minimum margin of 1:0. Last week, Marseille met with the most serious opponent - defeat 1:2 by Bayer Leverkusen. Last season in Ligue 1, Marseille finished third, 12 points behind PSG.

The bookmakers have the third club of the French Ligue 1 as the favorite, but not everything is unambiguous. To start with, Panathinaikos already have game practice in the Champions League in the current campaign. In addition, in the preseason, Marseille did not surprise at all with their performance against the obvious underdogs. Panathinaikos, despite certain problems in the game in recent years, remains one of the tops in Greece, which can give a great performance at home. The first meeting will be effective; the attack will be stronger than the defense. We don't rule out a draw.