Champions League
2012-08-28 - Panathinaikos vs Malaga
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Champions League
Tuesday 28 August 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Malaga lead the tie 2-0
Panathinaikos
After the disappointment of losing 2-0 in Spain, you may have thought the Panathinaikos players and staff had accepted their fate of playing in the Europa League in the coming season, but that has not been the case. The team have made it clear they felt they had enough of the ball in Malaga to turn this game around, even if it will take a big effort to do so.
Panathinaikos won their opening game in the Greek Super League at the weekend as they bid to make up the 7 point deficit between themselves and Olympiakos last season. They had an impressive 13-0-2 record at home in the regular season and then went 2-1-0 here in the Champions League Play Off series held between 2nd and 5th place in Greece to qualify for the competition this season at the qualifier stage.
The team then went and beat Motherwell 5-0 in the last round of the qualifiers in the Champions League, winning the home game 3-0. However, Panathinaikos had lost 4 of their previous 5 home games in the competition, including a 3-4 loss to OB in the qualifiers last season.
Malaga
This time last year, there were a lot of positive vibes at Malaga as a new investor started pumping money into the club that was used to purchase some talented players. They did finish in a position to at least have a chance to play in the Champions League, however they have now been selling some of the players they bought into the club as the owner has decided he doesn't want to invest so much money.
The strange situation means a place in the Group Stages of this competition is even more important to Malaga and their financial future so a 2-0 home win was very well received. That has put the side in the driving seat in the tie and an away goal in Athens will surely see them reach the lucrative next stage. Confidence shouldn't be an issue for a side that has picked up 4 points from their first 2 games this season as well as the win in the first leg of this tie.
This is the first time since the 2002-03 season that Malaga have competed in European competition and only the second season overall that they have this luxury. In the 2003 season, Malaga actually reached the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Cup and it took a penalty shoot-out to end their interest.
Head to Head
This is the first European tie between the two clubs so this is the first time they will meet in Athens.
Prediction
I am not sure how this game will develop in terms of a winner on the night, but I do think Malaga will have to capitulate now to fall out of the Champions League before the Group Stage of the competition.
While I am unsure as to which side will win on Tuesday, I like the look of the 2.14 being offered that there are at least 3 goals in the match.
Panathinaikos have made it clear that they are going to come out and attack in this game and Spanish teams are not likely to sit back and look to soak up the pressure without trying to get on the scoreboard themselves so it could be a fairly open game.
The Greek side cannot afford to 'feel' their way into the game as the 2 goal deficit looks a big mountain to climb, but they will have to be careful that the back door is kept shut. However, an early goal for either side will just make the game that much more open as far as I can see and the amount of chances that were created in Spain last week suggests goals could be on the menu in this one.
We also saw Panathinaikos lose 3-4 at home to OB Odense last season in what became an open game as the home side were chasing the winning goal and left gaps for the Odense side to exploit. That game also saw the first goal scored within the first 15 minutes and something similar here could see an exciting game develop.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Panathinaikos 2-1 Malaga
