Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Lens
Match Time & Date:
22/08/2024
21:00
Prediction: 2-1
Panathinaikos
Stade Bollaert-Delelis will be the centre of attention when Lens and Panathinaikos square off against each other in the Conference League derby. Lens kicked off the new Ligue 1 campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Angers, meaning that they are high on confidence ahead of Thursday’s clash. Defender Deiver Machado is pushing for a start, while all Cabot, Abdul Samed, El Aynaoui, Spierings, and summer signing M’Bala Nzola should miss out with injuries.
PAO, on the other hand, made life difficult for Ajax in the Europa League third qualifying round, but they did not have enough luck to eliminate the Amsterdammers. Anyhow, home win should be considered as over the years Lens have turned their Stade Bollaert-Delelis into a real fortress. To make things even worse for the away team midfielder Daniel Mancini is banned for the first leg due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
Highlighted Player (Angelo Fulgini):
Angelo Fulgini is a French footballer who plays for Angers in Ligue as a midfielder. Fulgini played for the likes of AS de Saint-Paul-en-Foret, FC Vidauban, SC Douai and Valenciennes during his youth career and he continued playing for the Athenians at senior level.
After scoring eight goals in 80 appearances for Valenciennes from 2015 to 2017, he moved to Angers before the start of the 2017/2018 Ligue 1 campaign and he quickly established himself as a first-team regular at Stade Raymond-Kopa. Angelo Fulgini scored his first ever goal for les Scoistes on August 6, 2017 in a 2-2 draw with Bordeaux. Despite being born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on August 20, 1996, the Angers midfielder represents France on the international stage.
Angelo Fulgini has 3 caps for the France U21 team, while making 15 appearances for the U19 team. His main position is central midfield, but he is uses as both right-back and right midfielder as well. His preferred foot is right.
Highlighted Team (Panathinaikos):
Despite being founded on 3 February, 1908, Panathinaikos won their first domestic trophy in 1930. However, they quickly established themselves as one of the biggest clubs in Greece. Oi Prasinoi clinched their 20th Greek Superleague trophy in 2010, with the team finishing the season six points clear of their fiercest rivals Olympiakos.
There have always been fireworks in meetings between the two capital clubs and the clash between the two sides is well known as the “Derby of eternal enemies”. According to UEFA Panathinaikos are the second most-popular team football team in Greece. Speaking of the club’s European success, PAO made it to the 1970/1971 European Cup (Champions League) final, but Ajax proved to be a big catch for the Greek side in the title game.
It is well known that green trifolium (shamrock) is the club’s emblem. Giorgos Karagounis, Djibril Cisse, Emmanuel Olisadebe, Paulo Sousa and Goran Vlaovic are notable footballers who played for PAO in the past. Giourkas Seitaridis, Antonis Nikopolidis, Kostas Chalkias, Angelos Basinas, Giannis Goumas and Dimitris Papdopoulos are Panathinaikos players who helped Greece win the 2004 European Championship trophy.
Brighton
Southampton
Barcelona
Las Palmas 
Crystal Palace
Newcastle 
Borussia Dortmund 
Bayern Munich 
West Ham
Arsenal
Chelsea 
Aston Villa 
