Panathinaikos vs Viktoria Plzen prediction 19.02.2026 | Europa League
Panathinaikos
Kick off:
Date:
Viktoria Plzen
1
2.47
X
3.30
2
3.25
Contents
- Competition: Europa League, 1/16 Finals
- Date: Thursday, 19th February, 2026
- Kickoff: 20:00 UK / 21:00 CET
- Venue: Olympic Stadium of Athens (Athens)
The Europa League knockout phase is about to get underway, and one of Thursday evening's most intriguing ties will see Panathinaikos host Viktoria Plzen in the first leg in Greece. The Greek giants come into this clash on a worrying run of form. They were recently knocked out of the Greek Cup by PAOK, before dropping more points in a disappointing 1:1 draw against AEL Larissa. On the other hand, Viktoria Plzen arrives at the match on a four-game winning streak across competitions, while also being undefeated in the past seven.
Let's break down the game and find the best possible bet for this Europa League tie.
Panathinaikos vs Viktoria Plzen Head to Head (H2H) stats
-
Panathinaikos
0 : 0
Viktoria Plzen
Europa League
Interestingly, these teams have already met this season in December 2025, with the match ending in a goalless draw. The Greens dominated the game after Plzen received a red card in the 32nd minute, but eventually failed to win. Still, before the red card, we saw an even game between these two teams.
This duel in December was the only h2h match between these teams in history.
Panathinaikos team overview
The 20-time Greek champion, Panathinaikos, won their last league title in the 2009/10 season. And this season, the Greens will hardly change that, considering they are sitting in 5th place with 33 points - 16 points away from the first-placed AEK Athens. Even reaching the Championship Group would be a challenge as they are six points behind 4th place, although with one game played fewer than Levadiakos.
Generally speaking, Panathinaikos are in terrible momentum, having won twice in the past nine games. During that nine-game stretch, they were eliminated from the Cup and are in a pretty bad momentum. For now, there are no indications that the club is preparing to replace Rafa Benítez, but the mood among the supporters is increasingly negative. Many believe a potential Europa League elimination could be the final straw that leads to Benitez's dismissal.
Last matches of Panathinaikos
-
Panathinaikos
1 : 1
Larissa
Super League
-
PAOK
2 : 0
Panathinaikos
Greek Cup
-
Olympiacos Piraeus
0 : 1
Panathinaikos
Super League
-
Panathinaikos
0 : 1
PAOK
Greek Cup
-
Panathinaikos
3 : 0
Kifisia
Super League
Panathinaikos lineup
Goalkeeper
-
40
Alban Lafont
Defenders
-
5
Ahmed Touba
-
3
Georgios Katris
-
14
Erik Palmer-Brown
Midfielders
-
2
Davide Calabria
-
11
Anastasios Bakasetas
-
16
Adam Gnezda Cerin
-
26
Javi Hernández
-
6
Manolis Siopis
Forwards
-
19
Karol Świderski
-
10
Santino Andino
Viktoria Plzen team overview
Viktoria Plzen finished the last season 2nd in the Chance Liga, but nowhere near the top, as Slavia Prague left them 16 points behind. This season, they had some ups and downs and are currently sitting in 4th place with 41 points - nine points away from the top spot. But unlike Panathinaikos, which are in poor form, Plzen are doing very well across competitions and are entering the match on a positive note, currently riding a four-game winning streak.
After a 2:1 win over Sigma Olomouc, coach Martin Hysky spoke to the media. He was very happy with the team's performance, praising their work rate, especially given the difficult pitch conditions and weather. The coach concluded they were a better team than Olomouc and that he is very happy with the way they played.
Last matches of Viktoria Plzen
-
Sigma Olomouc
1 : 2
Viktoria Plzen
Chance Liga
-
Viktoria Plzen
3 : 1
Slovan Liberec
Chance Liga
-
Karvina
0 : 2
Viktoria Plzen
Chance Liga
-
Basel
0 : 1
Viktoria Plzen
Europa League
-
Viktoria Plzen
1 : 1
Porto
Europa League
Viktoria Plzen lineup
Goalkeeper
-
44
Florian Wiegele
Defenders
-
99
Amar Memić
-
37
David Krcik
-
21
Vaclav Jemelka
-
14
Merchas Doski
Midfielders
-
17
Patrik Hrosovsky
-
6
Lukas Cerv
-
18
Tomas Ladra
-
19
Cheick Souaré
Forwards
-
70
Salim Fago Lawal
-
9
Denis Visinsky
Prediction
In the first h2h game in December, the duel ended in a goalless draw. After Plzen received a red card in the 32nd minute, the situation changed, but before the red card, we saw a really even game with few clear chances for either side.
Also, Panathinaikos went under 2.5 goals in four consecutive games and in seven of the past eight - 87.5%. They had major offensive problems, scoring one or zero goals in eight of the last nine games, and it is hard to expect a great offensive performance.
Moreover, Viktoria Plzen went under 2.5 goals in six of eight Europa League games. Additionally, with an average of only 1.4 goals per game, Plzen had the lowest goal-per-game average in the Europa League among the 36 teams!
Considering all the above, an under 2.5 goals bet seems like the best option for this Europa League tie.
4 Reasons why we should see fewer than three goals
- Panathinaikos went under 2.5 goals in the past four games
- Panathinaikos scored one or zero goals in seven of the past eight games
- Plzen have the lowest goal-per-game average in the EL with 1.4
- The first h2h game ended as a goalless draw
Main prediction Panathinaikos - Viktoria Plzen
Under 2.5 goals
Best Odds:
22bet
1.71
Panathinaikos vs Viktoria Plzen standings in Europa League
| League Stage | P | W | D | L |
G - A
|
GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olympique Lyonnais | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 18 - 5 | +13 | 21 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 14 - 6 | +8 | 21 |
| 3 | FC Midtjylland | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 18 - 8 | +10 | 19 |
| 4 | Real Betis | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 - 7 | +6 | 17 |
| 5 | Porto | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 - 7 | +6 | 17 |
| 6 | Sporting Braga | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 - 5 | +6 | 17 |
| 7 | SC Freiburg | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 - 4 | +6 | 17 |
| 8 | Roma | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 13 - 6 | +7 | 16 |
| 9 | Genk | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 - 7 | +4 | 16 |
| 10 | Bologna | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 - 7 | +7 | 15 |
| 11 | VfB Stuttgart | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 - 9 | +6 | 15 |
| 12 | Ferencvárosi | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 12 - 11 | +1 | 15 |
| 13 | Nottingham Forest | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 15 - 7 | +8 | 14 |
| 14 | Viktoria Plzeň | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 - 3 | +5 | 14 |
| 15 | Crvena Zvezda | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 - 6 | +1 | 14 |
| 16 | Celta de Vigo | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 - 11 | +4 | 13 |
| 17 | PAOK | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 17 - 14 | +3 | 12 |
| 18 | LOSC Lille | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 12 - 9 | +3 | 12 |
| 19 | Fenerbahçe | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 - 7 | +3 | 12 |
| 20 | Panathinaikos | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 - 9 | +2 | 12 |
| 21 | Celtic | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 - 15 | -2 | 11 |
| 22 | Ludogorets | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 - 15 | -3 | 10 |
| 23 | Dinamo Zagreb | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 - 16 | -4 | 10 |
| 24 | Brann | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 - 11 | -2 | 9 |
| 25 | Young Boys | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 - 16 | -6 | 9 |
| 26 | Sturm Graz | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 - 11 | -6 | 7 |
| 27 | FCSB | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 - 16 | -7 | 7 |
| 28 | Go Ahead Eagles | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 - 14 | -8 | 7 |
| 29 | Feyenoord | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 - 15 | -4 | 6 |
| 30 | Basel | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 - 13 | -4 | 6 |
| 31 | Salzburg | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 10 - 15 | -5 | 6 |
| 32 | Rangers | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 - 14 | -9 | 4 |
| 33 | Nice | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 - 15 | -8 | 3 |
| 34 | FC Utrecht | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 - 15 | -10 | 1 |
| 35 | Malmö FF | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 - 15 | -11 | 1 |
| 36 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 - 22 | -20 | 1 |