Chelsea are back in Conference League action on Thursday evening as they take on Panathinaikos in Athens looking to make it back-to-back wins in the competition.
Panathinaikos v Chelsea best bets
Christopher Nkunku to score – 11/10 at Betano
Chelsea to win, both teams to score, over 3.5 goals – 7/2 at Betano
Panathinaikos v Chelsea odds
Find the latest match odds for Panathinaikos v Chelsea on Betano. Odds are subject to change.
Panathinaikos – 17/4
Draw – 29/10
Chelsea – 11/20
Panathinaikos v Chelsea predictions
Chelsea head into Thursday evening’s match in the Greek capital as odds on favourites for victory as they look to get back to winning ways following their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League on the weekend.
Enzo Maresca’s side dropped out of the top four as a result of their defeat an Anfield, and now sit sixth in the standings, three points off the Champions League qualification positions ahead of a tricky run of league fixtures with Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal coming in their next three league games.
Attention for now will be on their trip to Athens in the Conference League though, a competition which the Blues are strong favourites to win, as they look to build on their 4-2 opening day victory over Belgian side Gent three weeks ago.
The west London side are now two games without a win having being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Nottingham Forest before the international break, having previously put together a five match winning streak.
Panathinaikos head into Thursday evening’s match having extended their current run to just one defeat in their last nine in all competitions with a 1-0 win away at Crete on Sunday afternoon, which lifted them up into sixth place in the Greek Super League.
Diego Alonso, who has had unsuccessful tenures at Uruguay and Sevilla in recent years, took over as manager in the summer, with mixed success up until now, though are only three points off the top three in spite their current sixth place ranking.
The Greek side have already played seven European matches this season ahead of their second league phase game in the Conference League this week, joining the Europa League at the second qualifying round stage before losing 13-12 on penalties against Ajax.
Their transfer into the play-off round of the Conference League saw them drawn against French side Lens, a strong side who beat Arsenal in the Champions League last season, and managed to overturn a first leg deficit to reach the league phase.
The Greens were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw to Borac Banja Luka in Bosnia in their league phase opener three weeks ago, so will be looking to point more points on the board in front of their home fans this week with the Conference League league phase only lasting six games.
Thursday will be the first ever meeting between the two sides, a game in which Chelsea are strong favourites for and will expect to return to London with three points, a 3-1 win seeming a likely scoreline.
Panathinaikos v Chelsea betting tips
Christopher Nkunku sits atop Chelsea’s goal scoring charts this seaosn with seven to his name, which includes having scored in each of his three Conference League appearances to his name so far, and one wouldn’t bet against him finding the net again on Thursday.
Chelsea will very likely take all three points back to London but Panathinaikos will definitely make it a tough test, with a hostile atmosphere to be expected for the visit of the European champions of only three years ago.
The Greek side have struggled to find the back of the net in recent weeks, scoring just two in their last four matches but a fired up side playing against one of Europe’s biggest sides with vociferous backing from their crowd could well cause them to score at least once, before Chelsea’s superior strength shines through.
Christopher Nkunku to score – 11/10 at Betano
Chelsea to win, both teams to score, over 3.5 goals – 7/2 at Betano
How to watch Panathinaikos v Chelsea
Location: Olympic Stadium, Athens
Date and time: Thursday 24th October 2024, 5:45pm
How to watch: TNT Sports 1
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