The West Bohemians already faced Panathinaikos in the league stage, which they went through without defeat. They drew 0:0 with the Greek opponent in Athens in December, the game was then affected by the expulsion of Pilsen defender Václav Jemelka in the 32nd minute. However, the Czech team won a draw and did not allow the home team many chances.
Pilsen collected fourteen points in eight matches of the league phase of the competition, won 1:0 in Basel on Thursday and finished in 14th place in the thirty-six-member table. With three conceded goals, it boasted the best defense of all the participants. It was clear that they would face either the 19th or 20th team in the table, which were Fenerbahce and Panathinaikos. She has already faced both of them in this year’s Europa League.
Panathinaikos won twelve points in its league phase, in the last duel they drew 1:1 at home with AS Rome. In the domestic league, the famous team led by coach Rafael Benítez is not doing as expected. They are in fifth place with a big eighteen point loss to the leader AEK Athens. In recent days, it was discussed that Czech midfielder Alex Král could transfer to Panathinaikos from Union Berlin, but his transfer was eventually frozen.
| The draw for the opening round of the knockout phase of the Europa League (first legs on February 19, second legs on February 26): |
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| Panathinaikos Athens – Viktoria Plzeň, Fenerbahce Istanbul – Nottingham (winners will face Midtjylland or Betis Sevilla in the round of 16), |
| Ludogorets Razgrad – Ferencváros Budapest, Celtic Glasgow – Stuttgart (the winners will face FC Porto or Braga in the round of 16), |
| Dinamo Zagreb – Genk, Brann Bergen – Bologna (the winners will face Freiburg or AS Rome in the round of 16), |
| PAOK Thessaloniki – Celta Vigo, Lille – Crvena zvezda Belgrade (the winners will face Lyon or Aston Villa in the round of 16) |
