Panathinaikos Athens vs SC Dnipro-1 Prediction & Betting Tips - Champions League

Prediction published on 30/07/2023, 14:21  by Kennedy Kechula in Champions League Predictions

Panathinaikos will on Tuesday host SC Dnipro-1 in the return match of their UEFA Champions League second-round qualifier. The Greek side leads the tie 3-1 after dominating the first leg last week. Panathinaikos have one foot in the third round of the qualifiers and can even afford a defeat in this match. They will however seek to dominate as they did in the first match to build up momentum. The first leg was Ivan Jovanovic’s charges’ first match of the 2023/24 season. It saw them get back to winning ways after they had lost their final pre-season match to Rayo Vallecano. The Greens were in good form in pre-season and won five of the seven matches they played. Panathinaikos haven’t made it to the Champions League group stage since the 2010/11 season. They last took part in the tournament six seasons ago.

SC Dnipro-1 have to win here by three clear goals to be assured of progressing to the next round. Winning by two goals will mean extra time and possibly a penalty shootout if the score is still tied. Oleksandr Kucher’s charges also played their first competitive match of the season with the first leg. The result ended a six-game unbeaten run with five of those games being pre-season build-up matches. In this period, five of those six matches ended in victory and they will hope to get back to this form. Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Dnipro have been forced to play outside of the country. The first leg match took place in Slovakia and this could have precipitated their subpar performance. Dnipro will hope to make the Champions League groups for the first time.