The hosts suffered a 3-0 thrashing at Rennes in their opening fixture of the competition last month, while the Greek outfit got the better of Villarreal 2-0 in their first match of the group stage.
Follow Us
Maccabi Haifa will be looking to register their first points on board in the Europa League when they play host to Panathinaikos in their second Group F fixture at Sammy Ofer Stadium on Thursday night. The hosts suffered a 3-0 thrashing at Rennes in their opening fixture of the competition last month, while the Greek outfit got the better of Villarreal 2-0 in their first match of the group stage. Meanwhile, the Greens are heading into the match on the back of a thrilling 3-2 win away to Maccabi Netanya in the Israeli Premier League at the weekend, while the visitors played out a 2-2 Greece Super League-draw against PAOK last time out.
⚽️ @mhfootballclub
🏆 @EuropaLeague
🏟️ “Sammy Ofer”
đź•™ 22:00
📱 Social Media Panathinaikos FC
📺 Cosmote Sports 6#Panathinaikos #PAOFC #MACPAO #UEL pic.twitter.com/BKvmxtKG9Q— Panathinaikos F.C. (@paofc_) October 5, 2023
Maccabi Haifa won the 2022-23 Israeli Premier League title and then came close to qualifying for the Champions League group stage this term, reaching the playoff round, where they were beaten 3-0 on aggregate by Young Boys. Nevertheless, the Greens haven’t made the best start to their Europa League campaign, losing against Rennes at Roazhon Park courtesy of goals from Ludovic Blas, Adrien Truffert and Bertug Ozgur Yildrim. Since then, Messay Dego’s side have recorded one draw and a win from their last two outings in the league. The Greens twice came from behind to take all three points against Netanya on Sunday thanks to Tjaronn Chery’s 25th-minute penalty-kick and Frantzdy Pierrot’s brace. The victory helped Maccabi Haifa to move to six points from their opening four top flight games and the reigning champions are currently languishing at the seventh spot in the table.
Panathinaikos, on the other hand, lost 3-1 to Braga in their two-legged Champions League playoff and thereby had to settle for a place in the group stage of Europe’s second tier club competition. Nevertheless, the Trefoil secured a comprehensive victory over 2021 Europa League winners Villarreal in their tournament opener on September 21 thanks to goals from Fotis Ioannidis and Andraz Sporar. The result helped Ivan Jovanovic’s side to occupy second spot in the group in this early stage. Meanwhile, the Trifolium have also made a solid start to their domestic league campaign, taking 13 points from first six games.
Maccabi Haifa probable starting lineup: Kaiuf, Sundgren, Seck, Goldberg, Cornud, Mohamed, Chery, Show, Khalaili, Shuranov, Pierrot
Panathinaikos probable starting lineup: Brignoli, Kotsiras, Jedvaj, Schenkeveld, Juankar, Bernard, Arao, Djuricic, Cerin, Palacios, Ioannidis
Maccabi Haifa
| Opponents | Score |
| Netanya | 2-3 (W) |
| Sakhnin | 1-1 (D) |
| Rennes | 3-0 (L) |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 3-2 (L) |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 1-2 (W) |
Panathinaikos
| Opponents | Score |
| PAOK | 2-2 (D) |
| Asteras Tripolis | 1-4 (W) |
| AEK Athens FC | 1-2 (L) |
| Villarreal | 2-0 (W) |
| Panetolikos | 0-5 (W) |
The Europa League fixture between Maccabi Haifa and Panathinaikos will take place at Sammy Ofer Stadium on Friday at 12:13 am IST.
| Maccabi Haifa vs Panathinaikos | Key Details |
| Date | October 5 (Israel) |
| Venue | Sammy Ofer Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Israel | 10:00 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in Greece | 10:00 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 12:30 am (Friday) |
Football fans in Greece can watch the match on Cosmote Sport 6 HD. Meanwhile, those in Israel can catch the live action via Sport 4.
More football news:
