Panathinaikos vs Asteras Tripolis

Panathinaikos’ pursuit of the Greece Super League 1 play-offs continues this weekend as they take on direct rivals Asteras Tripolis at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium.

Panathinaikos have enjoyed a decent start to the new calendar year, going unbeaten in four of their five competitive matches in 2022 (W3, D1), barring a 3-1 away defeat at the hands of Volos in early January. At home, however, the ‘Greens’ have been a force to be reckoned with, racking up a resounding seven-game undefeated streak in all competitions (W6, D1) since a 3-1 loss to bitter rivals PAOK in November. Much of Panathinaikos’ remarkable form in that run of fixtures has to be pinned on a rock-solid defence that has registered six clean sheets, including five in a row ahead of this round. Topically, before playing out a 2-2 draw in their most recent league H2H at home, Ivan Jovanovic’s side had held Asteras at bay in three consecutive such fixtures (W2, D1).

On the other hand, Asteras Tripolis have hit the ground running since the calendar year flipped to 2022, putting together three consecutive league wins by an identical 1-0 scoreline. However, since securing a narrow 1-0 triumph at the expense of Smyrnis in mid-October, the visitors have gone winless in their last six top-flight road trips on the trot (D2, L2), conceding precisely once in three of those fixtures. A lack of firepower up front has seen Asteras score a measly average of 0.75 goals per Greece Super League 1 away match this season, with their tally of six goals scored from eight league travels standing for the division’s third-worst. Early goals have been at a premium in Asteras’ away league games this term as only two of their eight such contests featured a goal within 15 minutes.