Panathinaikos stars: who should Slavia watch out for?

On Thursday evening Slavia will welcome Panathinaikos, one of the most successful Greek clubs, in the third round of the Conference League. In recent years, it has not been as successful, but it is still very dangerous and has some interesting players in its squad.

Dimitrios Kourbelis

Captain and leader of the team. He will start his eighth season at Panathinaikos, and at 28 years old, the midfielder is also a member of the Greek national team. He is a regular penalty kick taker, great at crossing and strong in personal duels.

He has had knee problems in recent weeks and his start was uncertain, but Panathinaikos confirmed his Thursday start on their official website.

Andraž Šporar

A last minute signing and a well-known name in the Czech-Slovak environment. Slovenian Šporar was playing for Slovan Bratislava, from where he was bought by Sporting Lisbon. He didn’t catch on there and went on loan to Braga and Middlesborough. Now he’s joined Panathinaikos.

The Greek club also brought in another Slovenian reinforcement at the last minute, Benjamin Verbic, who the Slavs will remember from their 2018 match against Dynamo Kiev.

However, Verbic will not be able to play as he has already played for Dynamo in the Champions League preliminary round.

Aitor Cantalapiedra

You probably won’t find a more prestigious place in the world to grow in football than Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy. And it was here that Cantalapiedra grew up.

But he never made it to the A-team, having come through Villareal, Sevilla and Twente. The 26-year-old midfielder racked up a tally of seven goals and six assists for Panathinaikos last season, with a single goal also deciding the Greek Cup final, handing the green-and-white club its first trophy in eight years and also a third Conference League qualifier.

Source:: SK Slavia Prague, Transfermarkt