Dessers redemption in sight as Panathinaikos visit newly-promoted Kifisia

The Michalis Kritikopoulos Stadium in Kaisariani could be the first in Greece to witness Super Eagles star Cyriel Dessers when Kifisia takes on Panathinaikos on September 14, 2025.

Dessers, who started Nigeria’s ill-fated World Cup qualifier against South Africa and received backlash for his performance from the NFF will get the chance to remind people of his quality with his new side Panathinaikos after his deadline day move from Rangers.

This match sees the newly promoted Kifisia go up against one of the league's perennial powerhouses in Panathinaikos.

While Kifisia will be looking to build on their recent form and make a statement in the top flight, Panathinaikos will be desperate to assert their dominance and get their campaign back on track. With a clear difference in quality on paper, this game offers an interesting dynamic for bettors, with a strong favourite and potential for an upset.

This fixture promises to be an exciting encounter, as Kifisia's home advantage and recent momentum could pose a challenge to Panathinaikos, who will be keen to avoid any further slip-ups. For punters, the match presents a classic home vs away betting preview, with options ranging from a straightforward away win to more speculative bets on goal markets and correct score predictions.

Kifisia has shown understandably poor form for a newly-promoted side in the Premier League run of form recently, with their last two games in the league seeing them record a draw against AE Larissa and a loss to Levadiakos, with a win over Karditsa on penalties in the Greek Cup being their only net positive result.

Panathinaikos have had a frustrating period, with four of their last five matches in all competitions resulting in draws. They drew with Levadiakos (1-1), Samsunspor (0-0), Shakhtar Donetsk (0-0), and another draw with Shakhtar Donetsk (0-0) before managing a 2-1 win against Samsunspor in Europa League qualification.

Four of Panathinaikos’ last five games across all competitions have ended in a draw.

The last two competitive meetings between these two teams have seen fewer than 2.5 goals scored.

In their last five games, Kifisia have scored an average of 1.33 goals per game, while Panathinaikos have averaged just 0.8 goals per game.

Panathinaikos to win 2-0. Despite Panathinaikos's recent run of draws, their quality should shine through against Kifisia.

The home side's form is encouraging, but they are facing a significant step up in class. Panathinaikos's strong defensive record, coupled with their attacking firepower, suggests they can secure a clean sheet and score a couple of goals to win the game comfortably.

In the two previous meetings, Panathinaikos have one win and there has been one draw. Both of their competitive encounters have resulted in under 2.5 goals.

Panathinaikos have kept a clean sheet in one of the two matches, while the last match between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw

Team news for Kifisia is a mixed bag, with no significant injuries reported. They will be relying on their key players to deliver a strong performance.

The coach will likely field his strongest available squad, hoping to capitalize on any potential weaknesses in the Panathinaikos lineup.

Panathinaikos comes into this match with no new injury concerns. They will be looking to field a full-strength squad as they aim to get back to winning ways.

The team's recent form of four draws in five games has put pressure on them, and the coach will be keen to see a dominant performance and a decisive result against a lesser opponent.

Kifisia (4-3-3): Anagnostopoulos; Vafeas, Cheton, Botos, Dario Canadjija; Antunes, Panourgias, Siannis; Tetteh, Jeremejeff, Orozco

Panathinaikos (4-2-3-1): Dragowski; Vagiannidis, Jedvaj, Mladenovic, Juankar; Pérez, Zeca; Palacios, Bakasetas, Bernard; Ioannidis

Result: Panathinaikos win

Over/Under 2.5 goals: Under 2.5 goals