eir situation is perilous is something of an understatement. Nevertheless, Thursday’s encounter will provide brief respite from their league situation.

Benfica, who marched through to the knockout phases after picking up 15 points from a possible 18, are Portuguese league leaders. With Porto not quite at their best this term, Os Gloriosos lead Braga by a solitary point, though the second placed side do have a game in hand. Boasting a free-scoring forward line of Oscar Cardozo and Javier Saviola, the Lisbon side will be hard to stop.

ave been enjoying a good run of competitive action, progressing through to the final of the Coupe de la Ligue in recent weeks. Didier Deschamps’ men have also stepped up their challenge in Le Championnat, dismissing both Valenciennes (5-1) and Monaco (2-1) over the last couple of weeks.

A big match on Sunday against fierce rivals Paris Saint-Germain may mean the French side are somewhat distracted from their duties on Thursday evening, especially as the squad is somewhat depleted because of injuries to Gabriel Heinze and Brandao.

come up with the goods.

Panathinaikos qualified for the Round of 32 in the Europa League by finishing second in Group F, just one point behind group winners Galatasaray. Although they struggled to find the opposition's net, managing just seven goals in six matches, they conceded only four times.

At the moment Panathinaikos are going great guns in the Greek Super League. They have displaced arch rivals Olympiakos at the top of the table and have collected 52 points from 22 matches, three more than the Erythrolefki. However, they lost 2-0 at home to Kavala on Valentine's Day

Coach Nikolaos "Nikos" Nioplias will be hoping to stretch out Panathinaikos's good home form in Europe. The 45-year-old took over from Henk Ten Cate in early December and he will be hoping that Pana do not concede for the third successive game in the Europa League at the Olympic Stadium this season, and win it too.

Flying High And Wild

Roma have been doing exceptionally well in Serie A since Claudio Ranieri took over in September and the Giallorossi will be hoping for that form to transfer to the European scene. At the moment the Romans are second in the league standings with 47 points from 24 matches, seven points behind runaway leaders Inter.

Roma qualified for the Round of 32 of the Europa League after finishing top of Group E, scoring 10 goals and conceding 5 in six matches. They lost just once and won four of those games. Moreover, Ranieri's side have suffered just one defeat in five European away games this season. The last time they reached this stage of the UEFA Cup was in 2005-06, when they progressed to the last 16 stage.

Roma will be facing Panathinaikos for the first time in a competitive match and have yet to lose against Greek sides in six competition matches. On the other hand, Panathinaikos have recorded just four wins in 18 previous matches against Serie A opposition.


FORM GUIDE

Panathinaikos

February 14 v Kavala (H) - LOST 2-0 (Greek Super League)

February 7 v Larissa (A) - WON 3-0 (Greek Super League)

January 31 v AEK Athens (H) - DREW 1-1 (Greek Super League)

January 24 v Aris Salonika (A) - DREW 0-0 (Greek Super League)

January 17 v Panthrakikos (H) - WON 2-0 (Greek Super League)


Roma

February 13 v Palermo (H) - WON 4-1 (Serie A)

February 7 v Fiorentina (A) - WON 1-0 (Serie A)

February 4 v Udinese (H) - WON 2-0 (Coppa Italia)

January 31 v Siena (H) - WON 2-1 (Serie A)

January 26 v Catania (H) - WON 1-0 (Coppa Italia)



TEAM NEWS

Panathinaikos

There are no suspension issues for Panathinaikos and there are no reported cases of injuries either. However, there is a suggestion that Sotiris Ninis could start instead of Dimitris Salpiggidis to help out Djibril Cisse in terms of supply. It would also be interesting to see whether Giorgis Karagounis and Sebastian Leto start together on Thursday evening.

Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Tzorvas, Vyntra, Kante, Sarriegi, Spiropoulos; Simao, Karagounis, Katsouranis, Leto; Cisse, Salpigidis

Roma

Francesco Totti has been left behind in Rome because of flu while Luca Toni is injured as well as cup-tied. Totti's absence implies that Roma will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Mirko Vucinic as the lone striker up front. The Lupi have no suspension worries.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Julio Sergio, Motta, Mexes, Juan, Riise; Pizarro, De Rossi; Taddei, Perrotta, Baptista; Vucinic


PLAYERS TO WATCH

Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos)

Cisse has been in excellent form for Panathinaikos in the Greek Super League this season and has been scoring goals with ease. The 28-year-old French international signed for the Greek powerhouse in 2009 and has been arguably the main reason why the Prasinoi look genuine favourites to win the championship this season, their first in five years. Cisse will be spearheading Panathinaikos's attack on Thursday and stopping him will be Roma's main job. There are reports in the French press suggesting that Pierre Mankowski, the assistant coach of the French national team, is going to watch Cisse in the game.

Daniele De Rossi (Roma)

De Rossi has been in excellent form of late and was one of the best players in Serie A at the weekend. De Rossi was supreme against Palermo as he provided inch-perfect passes and also made timely challenges on the opponents. The 26-year-old will be a key player in the middle of the park for the Italian side in a very hostile and intimidating atmosphere.


PREDICTION

It won't be easy for Roma to win in Athens but given that they have a good away record in Europe so far this campaign, the Italians would like to give themselves a chance. However, Panathinaikos haven't conceded in their last two European fixtures at home and will be buoyed by a very passionate home support.

likely to be the focus of Adrie Koster’s side. They are presently second in the Belgian First Division, though the Blauw-Zwart do trail leaders Anderlecht by seven points.

Valencia are also a side who hope to play with the elite next term, currently boasting third spot in La Primera Division. Unai Emery has at his disposal an exciting group of players, though he does have a number of injury worries going into this clash in Belgium. Bruno is the latest problem to his los Che’s side, spraining his ankle in the 1-1 draw against Sporting Gijon last weekend. David Navarro is another high profile absentee.

ance to watch, boasting a style that has been compared to the Spanish game. The northerners actually pitted themselves against Primera Division opposition in the form of Valencia in the group stages but were not quite good enough to match los Ches. However, Lille proved too good for Genoa.

Fenerbahce lost only three points when qualifying past Twente in Group H, slipping against their Dutch opponents on the very first matchday. Since then they have been powerful on the continent, winning their last five fixtures. Domestically they lie second in the Super Lig behind a powerful Galatasaray side. Injuries will hamper Fener in this game, with several players, including long-term absentee Ugur Boral, missing