This is the second European meeting between Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen, with the other a goalless draw earlier this season on MD6 of the UEFA Europa League group stage.
Viktoria Plzen have never beaten a Greek side in all major European competitions in four attempts, although three have ended in draws – the other was a 4-0 away defeat to Olympiakos in July 2019 in a UEFA Champions League qualifier.
Panathinaikos manager Rafael Benitez has only lost one of his last 16 matches in the UEFA Europa League (W8 D7), although it was his most recent knockout match in the competition, losing 1-0 to Dnipro with Napoli in a semi-final second leg in May 2015.
Viktoria Plzen were the only side to go through the entire 2025-26 UEFA Europa League group stage without losing (W3 D5), while they also conceded the fewest goals (3). They only managed eight goals themselves, however, fewer than five sides who were eliminated from the competition in the group stage.
Viktoria Plzen goalkeeper Florian Wiegele has saved 19 of the 20 shots on target he’s faced in the UEFA Europa League this season, a 95% save ratio. Among goalkeepers to play 4+ games in a season since 2009-10, the only one with a better ratio is Aston Villa’s Marco Bizot this season (96.3%).