Panathinaikos prepares for Conference League playoff match against Hradec Kralove

Panathinaikos is finalizing preparations for the first leg of their UEFA Conference League playoff tie against the Czech side Hradec Kralove. The match is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 20, at 21:30 local time at the OAKA stadium in Athens.

Under the guidance of 39-year-old Danish manager Jacob Neestrup, the team held their final training sessions at the Georgios Kalafatis sports center in Koropi. The sessions focused on tactical development, ball circulation, offensive play, and set pieces. Davide Calabria is available for selection, and Triantafyllos Tsapras has returned to active training. Manager Neestrup emphasized in his pre-match press conference that the team must maintain high focus and confidence to secure a positive result, citing the opponent’s impressive performance against Besiktas in previous rounds.

Having successfully navigated past Paksi and CSKA 1948 in the qualifying rounds, Panathinaikos now faces this two-legged final hurdle to enter the competition's League Phase. The team has prioritized these matches over active transfer market business to ensure full concentration, with the management opting not to publish a formal squad list, counting on all available players for the upcoming challenge.