The match of matchday 8 of the group stage of the Europa League-2025/26 between Panathinaikos (Greece) and Roma (Italy) will take place on 29 january at Spiros Louis stadium in Athens. Panathinaikos vs Roma: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos snatched a point late in an away game against Ferencváros (1:1) in the last round. That draw was very valuable, as it extended the team's unbeaten run in the Europa League to 4 matches (2 wins, 2 draws). Most importantly, the club is now guaranteed not to drop out of the play-off positions. Chances of a direct place in the round of 16 are close to zero, as the team sits 19th in the table and trails 8th place by 3 points. Nevertheless the side can find motivation in earning additional prize money and avoiding a tough opponent in the first playoff round.
- Panathinaikos have conceded in 5 of their last 7 Europa League matches.
- The club has won with a +1.5 handicap in 12 home matches in this competition.
- Panathinaikos failed to score more than 1 goal in 5 of their previous 6 Europa League meetings.
Potential Panathinaikos Lineup (4-4-2)*
Panathinaikos: Alban Lafont – Davide Calabria, Tin Jedvaj, Giannis Kotsiras, Ahmed Tuba – Facundo Pellistri, Pedro Chirivella, Adam Gnezda Cerin, Anass Zaroury – Tete, Anastasios Bakasetas.
Midfielder Georgios Kiriopoulos and forward Cyriel Dessers will miss the match due to injuries.
Roma
Roma had some problems at the start of the group stage, but the club now has a current run of 4 wins in the Europa League. In total the team has won 5 of its last 7 matches since the start of this season's competition. Last Thursday the team defeated Stuttgart (2:0), which secured qualification for the playoffs and moved the club up to 6th in the table. Theoretically the club can remain in the top eight even if it loses, but the gap to 9th place is only 1 point, so hoping for rivals to slip up would be imprudent. If Roma win, they will definitely reach the round of 16 without playoffs.
- The team has scored in 5 consecutive Europa League games.
- Roma's uncompromising run in this European competition lasts 10 matches (7 wins, 3 defeats).
- Roma have conceded in 8 of their last 10 away matches in the Europa League.
Potential Roma Lineup (3-4-3)*
Roma: Mile Svilar – Zeki Celik, Jan Zelkowski, Daniele Gilardi – Devyne Rensch, Kostas Tsimikas, Kouadio Kone, Niccolò Pizilli – Lorenzo Pellegrini, Matias Soule, Evan Ferguson.
Defenders Angeliño and Mario Hermoso, midfielder Kouadio Kone, and forwards Stephan El Shaarawy and Artem Dovbyk will miss the match due to injuries.
Referee
Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain)
Matches – 6 (International fixtures, 2025/26);
Yellow/Red Cards Shown (including second yellows) – 28;
Average Yellow/Red Cards Per Match – 4.7;
Red Cards – 1;
Fouls Average Per Match – 26;
Penalties – 17%.
Panathinaikos vs Roma: Match Prediction
Panathinaikos typically try to fight with any opponent; after two October defeats the team have gone unbeaten in 4 Europa League matches. However, over the course of the last 6 rounds the side managed only 2 wins, and those came against Sturm and Malmö from the bottom of the table, and even in those games the margins were narrow. The club is not prolific — it scored exactly 6 goals in its last 6 Europa League games — and there is now no real need to push forward, because regardless of the result Panathinaikos will remain in the playoff zone. At the same time the team has improved defensively and conceded only 2 goals in the previous 4 Europa League rounds.
Roma, for their part, are aiming to hold a top-eight place and ideally need a win to be safe. The Italians previously won 4 Europa League matches in a row, and in 7 rounds since the start of the European season the club dropped points only twice. It is important to add that both dropped points happened at home — on the road the team has been flawless so far. Europa League matches involving Roma are usually lively and often finish with a higher number of goals, but in all 7 recent appearances in this competition the visitors' games have seen no more than 3 goals.
Prediction: Roma Double Chance + Under 3.5 goals
* For each team the starting lineup shown is the one used in its last match in this tournament.
