Panathinaikos vs Rangers Prediction: Hosts to make things interesting in Athens but BTTS is a top bet

Rangers head to the Greek capital for a UEFA Champions League second qualifying round deciding leg. Russell Martin’s Gers enter with a strong aggregate lead following a battling 2-0 win over The Greens in Glasgow.

Will they finish the job in Athens? Betfred’s Scottish football writer Frank Monkhouse offers his Panathinaikos vs Rangers Predictions for us in his match preview here on Betfred Insights...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds from the plethora of games available to bet on over on betfred.com

Panathinaikos enjoy home advantage when welcoming Rangers to Leoforos Alexandras Stadium on Wednesday. Rui Vitoria’s team know they must claw their way back into this game, following a 2-0 defeat in Scotland eight days ago.

The Greens did everything but score in a first leg that swung back and forth. The Greeks dominated much of the first half before conceding against the run of play. They then had Giorgos Vagiannidis sent off for a second bookable offence, allowing Gers to turn the screw.

Last week’s home win over Panathinaikos at a packed Ibrox was Russell Martin’s first game in charge of Rangers following his summer appointment. The former Rangers and Scotland defender understood the importance of winning the crowd over early, but his side toiled in the opening 45 minutes. Despite scoring two excellent goals and keeping a clean sheet, the defence looked familiarly fragile. Goalkeeper Jack Butland pulled off some wondersaves to keep his team in the tie.

Panathinaikos vs Rangers TV:

This crucial second-leg of the second qualifying round of the Champions League will be broadcast free to air on BBC Scotland. Kick-off is set for 19:00 BST and you can also follow the coverage on BBC Sport or the iPlayer.

Panathinaikos vs Rangers Odds

It may be July, but Olympiakos already face a must-win game. Wednesday isn’t a season-defining match for either side, but being eliminated from the Champions League and dropping into the Europa League would be a major blow. Panathinaikos need to beat Rangers by two clear goals just to remain in the tie, but they had enough chances to win in Glasgow. The locals must be more ruthless in the final third.

Take Panathinaikos to win on Wednesday at odds of 8/11 with Betfred. That’s sure to be popular in midweek, given what happened in the first leg.

Rangers rode their luck in the opener, before winning the match thanks to simply sublime goals from youngster Finlay Curtis and new arrival Djeidi Gassama. They now aim to protect that two-goal cushion, but few connected to the visitors believe the job is done. Rangers face a tough task in getting past an opponent that believes they were harshly treated in the first leg by the officials and deserved to win the match. Rangers aren’t yet where Martin wants them to be, but the squad will want to show they’re on the right path.

You can back Rangers to score a crucial win in Athens at 11/4 or chance the draw at 11/4. Both prices are available on the Betfred website and mobile app.

Both teams to score

Our first bet in Greece is for both teams to score. I took the same approach last week and couldn’t believe it didn’t land. Butland produced some incredible stops following mistakes in the Gers' defence. Panathinaikos also missed a few strong chances, including one fluffed by Nemanja Maksimovic when it looked easier to score. With the crowd behind them, extra match fitness, and the pressure that comes with having to win, I expect Panathinaikos to find the net at least once.

Rangers finished the first leg with five shots on target, compared to four of their opponents. Many of those chances came after the Greek Super League runners-up had a man sent off. It’s also worth remembering that the Premiership silver medallists hit the net with two of those five attempts.

Rangers know they don’t need to score on Wednesday, but appreciate that a goal would likely put this tie to bed, especially if they net first. Take BTTS as a single or add it to your midweek accumulators.

Panathinaikos to win and both score

My second bet in Athens is for the home team to win and both to score. With this approach, it doesn’t matter whether they advance to the next round or exit the competition. All you need is for Panathinaikos to learn the lessons from Glasgow and beat Rangers in normal time. They showed last time that there’s enough quality in their ranks to fire back and keep things interesting. Will they overturn that 2-0 loss? We’ll have to wait and see.

Rangers looked decent in attack, but Martin and his team still have a long way to go to impress the Ibrox loyal. A lack of match sharpness at this stage of the season is a factor, but there were too many misplaced passes in defence, the usual avoidable mistakes, shocking individual errors, and a lack of composure on the ball needed to make the manager’s bold tactics work in practice.

We must see better from Rangers if they’re to finish the job, and I’m happy to side with Panathinaikos until we see that improvement.

Frank Monkhouse Scottish Football P/L

25/26 Season:

• Points Placed: 2
• Points Returned: 1.8
• P/L: -0.2

24/25 Season:

• Points Placed: 257
• Points Returned: 252.25
• P/L: -4.75

Frank Monkhouse covers Scottish Football for us here at Betfred Insights. You can check out all of his work along with that of the rest of our Football Betting Tips desk on our main Football page...