Panathinaikos season so far could easily be described as a rollercoaster. Ivan Jovanovic’s arrival in the summer as head coach was greeted with enthusiasn, then came disappointment from the team’s look and feel in pre-season, then enthusiasm returned with new arrivals before the summer transfer window closed, and then a series of ups and downs in terms of form up to this point.

The main objective from the beginning were for the team to return to Europe and to attempt to win a trophy in the form of the Greek Cup. The latter objective is looking much better. Having prevailed by a 4-0 scoreline in the first leg of their quarter-final tie with Anagennisi Karditsa, the Greens have one foot in the semi-finals, where Lamia are waiting for them.

In the league the situation is much more complicated. Although Panathinaikos seemed to be in good shape, two consecutive defeats by Asteras Tripolis and OFI have made their life difficult as they look to secure a place in the top six.

The Trifylli is among the top six as things stand, but just five points separate six clubs battling for three places which provide a ticket to the Play Offs, and the remaining regular-season games have taken on the significance of cup finals, if you like, starting with the match at the Toumba against PAOK.

The absolute protagonist for Panathinaikos this season is Carlitos. The Spaniard has scored 11 goals and contributed four assists in all competitions, having some worthy backup in the form of Palacios, Mauricio and Juankar.

In the January transfer window, the Greens made a move, as they acquired Mijat Gacinovic on loan from Hoffenheim until the end of the season. On the other hand, Bouzoukis and N’Gabakoto left.

Jovanovic takes his team to the Toumba without the injured Machenda, the suspended Villafanez, but also Mauricio. Gacinovic was added to the final 20-man squad, while Dimitris Kourbelis was also included, returning to the squad for the first time after 14 months out.

The Panathinaikos squad includes the following players:

Dioudis, Carlitos, Brinioli, Juankar, Velez, Schenkeveld, Christogeorgos, Chatzitheodoridis, Sanchez, Sarlija, Pougouras, Alexandropoulos, Ayoub, Chatzigiovanis, Ludqvist, Ruben, Kourbelis, Aitor, Palacios, Gacinovic, Vidal, Ioannidis.