In the end, it was difficult for him to fall Panathinaikoswith the draw for this year’s Europa League groups undoubtedly not being the best possible, for qualification even to the Conference League!
As the “clover” was drawn in the 6th group of the second tier European football interclub competition, along with Villarreal, Rennes and Maccabi Haifa.
With the first being the absolute favorite, theoretically, and the rest fighting for the two “tickets” of the next phase, through second and third place, in a group with teams from Spain and France as well as the top team from Israel.
The sport-fm.gr “outlines” the profile of the three opponents of Panathinaikos.
Villarreal
Villarreal was founded in 1923, is based in the city of the same name, its color is yellow and its headquarters is the “De la Teramika” stadium, with a capacity of 23,008 seats. Last year they finished fifth in the Spanish league, with second place in the 2007-08 season being their best ever finish.
This year, after the completion of the first three matches in La Liga, they are in 13th place in the table, counting only one victory over Mallorca, away from home with 1-0, as well as two defeats, the most recent one against Barcelona, ​​with 4-3, at home.
The “yellow submarine”, as it is nicknamed, is in 18th place in the UEFA ranking, with the conquest of the Europa League in the 2020-21 season being its… highlight. In fact, Villarreal faced Panathinaikos again in the 2008-09 season, in the “16” phase of the Champions League with the first match at “Madrigal” ending in a 1-1 draw and the second leg at OAKA with 1-2.
The Spanish team is coached by Quique Setien, who was hired almost a year ago – in October 2022 – and likes to line them up with a 4-3-3 system. In the summer, there were “loud” departures, with Pau Torres being the biggest, but players such as Jeremy Pino remained on its roster, with the 20-year-old Spanish winger also considered its big star. Gerard Moreno, who became the top scorer in the history of Villarreal with 107 goals, as well as Juan Foyt, Alex Baena, and of course the iconic captain Danny Parejo.
Wren
Rennes was founded in 1923, it is also based in the city of the same name, with red and black as its colors and its headquarters is “Rozon Park”, with a capacity of 29,778 seats. Last year it finished fourth in the French championship, which it has actually won twice, but in the… distant past, in the seasons 1955-56 and 1982-83.
This year, with three matches already played in the Championnat, they are 6th in the standings, counting a premiership win with an impressive 5-1 win over Metz at home, as well as two straight draws most recently against Le Havre, 2 -2, also on her court.
The “red and blacks”, as they are nicknamed, are in 47th place in the UEFA ranking, while last season they participated again in the Europa League, even reaching the round of 16, where they were eliminated by Shakhtar Donetsk. They also have a history with a Greek team, having played against PAOK in the 2005-06 season, only to experience the “heavy” defeat in Toumba, with 5-1 in the group stage and in the 7th place at that time!
Rennes is coached by Bruno Genesio, who has been at the helm since March 2021 and is accustomed to using a 4-3-3 formation. After the sale of Jeremy Doku to Manchester City, Amin Guiry, who scored 17 goals last year, is considered the top player of the French team! Notable units are also Martin Terrier-Arthur Teate, as well as newcomers Ludovic Blas and Enzo LeFe.
Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa was founded in 1913, is based in the city of the same name, its colors are green and white, and its headquarters are in the “Sami Ofer”, with a capacity of 30,942 seats. Last year they won the Israeli league title, while they started this season by winning the Super Cup after beating Beitar Jerusalem 3-1.
It is on the way of Panathinaikos and in the Europa League groups, eliminating in the 1st qualifying round of the Champions League Hamrun Spartans from Malta with two wins, Sheriff Tiraspol, in extra time 4-1, after two draws with a score of 1-1 . To be followed by another 2×2, this time against Slovan Bratislava (with 2-1 and 3-1), as well as the elimination from the playoffs by Young Boys, after the 0-0 in the first match was followed by defeat of 3-0.
The Israeli team has… a rich history against Greek teams, counting a 3-0 victory and a “satisfying” 3-3 draw in the Champions League group stage against Olympiakos as well as the elimination of the “red and white” last year, in the 2 qualifying round of the competition, with 1-1 the first match and the deafening 4-0 in “|Georgios Karaiskakis”!
On the contrary, in the same year, AEK crushed it… in doubles with 4-0 and 4-1 for the third qualifying round of the then UEFA Cup, while PAOK took the baton in the 2013-14 season recording a 3-2 victory and a 0-0, again in the group stage, for the Europa League.
The coach of Maccabi Haifa is Mesai Dego, who got… promotion from the team’s Academies after the departure of Barak Bahar to the bench of Red Star. Staff midfielder Dia Saba and center forward Franji Perot from Haiti stand out from their roster which also includes Ari’s all-time right-back, Daniel Sudgren.
Source: Sport Fm
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