Will the Godenzonen leave nothing to chance?
Ajax Amsterdam won 1:0 at Panathinaikos Athens last week. The Dutch side have thus taken a big step towards the Europa League play-offs. If Ajax Amsterdam’s bet on an away win against Panathinaikos Athens fails to pay off, the game would be over and the Godenzonen would then face either Jagiellonia Białystok or FK Bodø/Glimt for a place in the Europa League group stage.
Even a home defeat with a one-goal difference would initially only take this game into extra time. The odds are therefore in the Godenzonen’s favor, who have never lost by more than one goal in six competitive matches against the Greeks. The fact that Ajax Amsterdam have won five of their six previous games against Panathinaikos Athens (one 1-0 defeat) must be taken into account in the prediction
The start to the season also favors Ajax Amsterdam. While the Godenzonen celebrated a 1-0 victory over Heerenveen on Sunday to win their fourth competitive game of the 2024/25 season, the Greek Super League has yet to get underway again. Panathinaikos Athens therefore have at least a slight disadvantage in terms of competitive toughness. To make matters worse, the 1-0 away win from the first leg means that the Dutch side are not forced to play the game. Even a 0-0 draw would be enough for Ajax.
A goal festival is therefore not to be expected, which is why we see a lot of value in the combined bet on the double chance 1X at under 3.5 goals. Alternatively, you could also use the Bwin app in the three-way system to bet on a home win for the Godenzonen in the second leg
Ajax Amsterdam – Statistics & current form
The 2023/24 season was a season to forget for Ajax Amsterdam – the Dutch record champions with 36 league titles and four-time winners of the UEFA Champions League. The Godenzonen won just 15 of their 34 league games in the Eredivisie, where they finished 35 points behind champions PSV Eindhoven in the final table.
As a result, the traditional club from the capital of the Netherlands, also known as the Venice of the North, only finished fifth and can therefore only compete in the Europa League qualifiers. Accordingly, a lot has to change for the Whites and Reds in the new season
Does Farioli get Ajax Amsterdam back on the road to success?
Under new coach Francesco Farioli, the Godenzonen have at least got off to a good start. In the last qualifying round for the Europa League group stage, they recorded two comfortable victories against Vojvodina. Thanks to the 1:0 away win in Greece, a place in the play-offs is now also imminent.
If Ajax Amsterdam’s bet on a correspondingly high away win for the Greeks against Panathinaikos Athens fails to materialize, the Dutch, who also managed a dress rehearsal for the second leg in the Eredivisie with a 1-0 home win over Heerenveen on Sunday, would be through
Ajax Amsterdam with a comfortable starting position
The Whites currently have four wins from four competitive matches in the still young 2024/25 season, in which they have kept the clean sheet three times, scoring six goals and conceding just one.
The fact that a 0-0 draw in front of a home crowd would be enough for Farioli’s side will also play into their hands. Ajax Amsterdam are therefore in the comfortable position of being able to let the Greek side, who are fundamentally inferior in terms of play anyway, run and wait for counterattacks. A correspondingly big surprise would therefore be the turnaround in this duel.
Predicted Ajax Amsterdam line-up:
Pasveer – Hato, Baas, Sutalo, Rensch – Tylor, Henderson, Fitz-Jim – Borges, Akpom, Berghuis
Panathinaikos Athens – Statistics & current form
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos – also known as PAO for short – is not only known for its excellent youth work, but is also one of the country’s figureheads with 20 championship titles (most recently in 2010) and just as many national cup wins (most recently this summer in 2024).
They almost pulled off a major international coup once before. However, their current opponents Ajax Amsterdam, of all people, have prevented the Green-Whites from scoring twice. In 1971, the Godenzonen beat the Greeks in the final of the European Champions Cup. In 1996, they eliminated PAO in the semi-finals of the Champions League
Does Panathinaikos Athens have what it takes to turn things around?
The reigning Greek cup winners would love to take revenge on the Whites. However, as the first leg against the Dutch side only resulted in a 1-0 home defeat, the odds are once again clearly stacked in the favor of the Dutch side when Ajax Amsterdam face Panathinaikos Athens.
No wonder, as Panathinaikos have only played three competitive games in the Europa League qualifiers so far in 2024/25 and are therefore not yet as advanced as the Godenzonen in terms of competitive toughness. Bulgarian club Botev Plovdiv, who were beaten 6:1 after the first and second legs, were not exactly the biggest touchstone either
Panathinaikos Athens with a poor international away record
Under coach Diego Alonso, the Greeks will do everything they can three days before the national season opener to perhaps turn things around away from home at the Johan Cruyff Arena. However, it won’t be easy because of the venue.
Before the 4-0 win at Botev Plovdiv, the Whites had won just two of their last 13 international away games (three draws, eight defeats) – a 3-1 win at Dnipro-1 in the 2023/24 Champions League qualifiers and a 2-0 win at FK Qäbälä in the 2017/18 Europa League qualifiers…
Panathinaikos Athens’ expected line-up:
Dragowski – Mladenovic, Jedvaj, Ingason, Kotsiras – Arao, Cerin – Djuricic, Bakasetas, Mancini – Jeremejeff
Ajax Amsterdam – Panathinaikos Athens head-to-head / H2H result
Head to head: 5 – 0 – 1
The two teams have faced each other six times. In 1971, the two clubs even played for Europe’s most important title in the European Champions Cup final. Not only this match, but also five of the previous six duels went to Ajax Amsterdam.
Only in 1996 did the Dutch side lose 1-0 to Panathinaikos Athens in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. A defeat that had no consequences, however, as the Dutch team won the second leg 3-0
Ajax Amsterdam – Panathinaikos Athens betting tip
The betting odds of the top bookmakers for Ajax Amsterdam against Panathinaikos Athens are clearly and unmistakably in favor of the Dutch, who already have one foot in the Europa League playoffs with their 1-0 away win in Greece last Thursday. The Godenzonen can take it easy and operate from a well-positioned defense, while the Greeks will have to play for victory sooner or later in this complicated away game, burdened with the mortgage from the first leg.
In view of the fact that the Dutch have made a perfect start to 2024/25 so far with four wins from four competitive games, our prediction for Ajax Amsterdam against Panathinaikos Athens is that the home side will progress. Very interesting in this context is the combined bet on the double chance 1X with under 3.5 goals
