Greek champions Panathinaikos have a very simple task on hand on Wednesday evening: win against Rubin Kazan at home. Pana have lost their opening two matches in the Champions League and are placed at the bottom of the group with no point.
A 5-1 humiliation to Barcelona at Camp Nou was followed by a shock 2-0 defeat to FC Copenhagen at home. A third successive loss in the group could just about spell the end of their adventure in Europe, given that they would have been beaten in two of their home fixtures and the remaining one would be against the mighty Barca.
The Shamrock are doing pretty well in the Greek Super League as they are just a point behind Olympiakos in second, and striker Djibril Cisse stresses the significance of an European victory, "You win you get an extra life; lose and you can wave goodbye to the Champions League.
"[Against Copenhagen] we didn't play as a team. We were too spread out, there wasn't enough cohesion to our play.''
Climbing Up The Ladder
Rubin Kazan commenced their Champions League quest on a note of disappointment as they went down 1-0 to FC Copenhagen in Denmark but recovered on Matchday Two when they drew 1-1 with Barcelona.
Rubin are currently third in Group D, three points behind Barca and five behind leaders Copenhagen, and will know that a win in Greece will vehemently increase their chance of qualifying for the second round.
Panathinakos’s defeat to Copenhagen in Athens will certainly give them reason to believe that they can script a Russian tragedy too on Wednesday evening.
However, coach Kurban Berdyev is wary of Pana’s strengths and explains, “We don't fear any one player but we have to be very careful against a team like Panathinaikos. They are one of the grandest clubs in European football and they have lots of Champions League experience.
“We will be watching all their players, not just one or two of them. I'm not going to say how we intend to play but we will be going for a result. I decided to take my players on a trip to the Acropolis – we must pay our respects to the cradle of our civilisation.”
TEAM NEWS
Panathinaikos
Sotiris Ninis could play a role on Wednesday after recovering from a foot problem while Giourkas Seitaridis too is fit. Jose Sarriegi is back but Sebastian Leto, Antonis Petropoulos, Cedric Kante and Sidney Govou have been sidelined. Gilberto Silva is suspended for the Greek champions.
Rubin Kazan
Roman Sharonov is out with a knee injury.
Prediction
This is a difficult game to call and Rubin will fancy their chances. However, Panathinaikos should have learned their lessons from the 2-0 loss to Copenhagen and may just edge past the Russians.
Panathinaikos 1-0 Rubin 
