Will Bern get back on track after being knocked out of the cup?
The Europa League is finally kicking off its league phase! We take a look at two teams that are not currently among the favorites to win the tournament. Young Boys welcome Panathinaikos Athens to the Wankdorf Stadium, and the best bookmakers are offering odds of 2.30 on a home win. Both teams had to go through qualifying, and the visitors in particular had a tough time making it into the field of 36 participants.
The hosts faced Slovan Bratislava and reached the lucrative league phase with two wins. However, they suffered a surprise defeat in the Swiss Cup last weekend against second division side Aarau. The yellow and blacks have made a decent start to the league season. With eleven points after six matchdays, the seventeen-time national champions are in fourth place, four points behind FC St. Gallen. We naturally expect Young Boys Bern to play an important role in the battle for the championship again this season.
Last season’s third-placed team in the Greek Super League has had a very difficult start to the new season. After three games, Panathinaikos Athens is still without a win. The Green-Whites have only managed two draws so far, which currently puts them in 12th place out of 14 teams in the table.
With one more game to play than their rivals, however, they can still make up ground. Nevertheless, the Shamrocks don’t seem to be in good form at the moment. That’s why they are the underdogs in the opening game of the Europa League. In the match between Young Boys and Panathinaikos Athens, bookmaker Betano’s prediction sees the visitors in the weaker position with odds of 3.00.
Young Boys – Panathinaikos Athens Head-to-head record
The two teams have only met once before in a pre-season tournament. In 2009, the Greeks won 2-1. However, this is only mentioned for the sake of completeness. We can disregard this encounter for our analysis of the upcoming game.
Young Boys – Panathinaikos Athens Tip
Until their cup exit, Young Boys were unbeaten in six competitive games in a row. Five of these matches were won. In the league, the yellow and blacks have scored ten times so far. In the high-scoring Swiss Super League, this puts them in fourth place in this ranking. Christian Fassnacht and Chris Bedia have each scored three goals. The hosts are still unbeaten in front of their own fans this season. They have recorded three wins and one draw at the Wankdorf Stadium. In the league, the Bernese have averaged almost 16 shots on goal.
No wins after three matchdays is certainly not the start the Greeks had hoped for. Since last week, Christos Kontis has been the new man on the sidelines, tasked with getting the ship back on course. With only four wins, the Shamrocks have one of the weakest offenses in the Super League. The defense is just as poor, conceding an average of almost two goals per game and yet to keep a clean sheet. In the four away games across all competitions this season, they have not won a single game.
The Swiss team prevailed in the qualifiers with two wins against Bratislava. The Athenians, on the other hand, had a much harder time against Samsunspor and Shakhtar Donetsk. In our opinion, the form favors the hosts, so our recommendation for the match between Young Boys and Panathinaikos Athens, with odds of 2.30 at Betano, is a home win. You can also secure the Betano bonus.
The yellow and blacks have been in a goal-scoring mood so far, and the visitors’ defense is anything but solid. Therefore, between Young Boys and Panathinaikos Athens, at odds of 1.80 in the Bet365 mobile app, we think betting on at least three goals is a good choice.
