Both sides arrive at the Olympic Stadium of Athens on Thursday with everything still to play for, as neither Panathinaikos nor Borac Banja Luka has yet played a match in the UEFA Europa Conference League League Stage. Kick-off is at 16:45 UTC in a competition that features 35 teams in total.
Panathinaikos sit in 20th place in the table, a position the fact sheet describes as mid-table. They have taken 9 points from their last five matches, a sequence that included wins away at Hradec Králové (1-2) and CSKA 1948 (1-2), along with draws against Panathinaikos 2-2 Hradec Králové, 1-1 CSKA 1948, and 2-2 Paks.
Borac Banja Luka occupy 28th place, in the bottom third of the table. Despite that standing, the visitors arrive in encouraging form, having collected 10 points from their last five matches. They head to Athens on the back of two consecutive wins, defeating Vikingur Reykjavik 3-1 at home and winning 3-1 away at the same opponents before that.
The points gap between the two sides in the Conference League table is zero, with both clubs level on nought points having played no matches. What separates them is recent form ahead of this opening fixture.
Borac Banja Luka's five-match sequence also featured a 3-3 draw at Petrocub and a 1-0 defeat to ML Vitebsk before their back-to-back victories over Vikingur Reykjavik.
With the League Stage only just beginning, Thursday's match at the Olympic Stadium of Athens represents the first opportunity for either side to register points in this competition.