The Greek parliament is set for a vote of confidence as part of the government's battle to win support for new austerity measures.
The vote at midnight local time (2200 GMT) is a first step towards a vital 12bn euro ($17bn; £10bn) loan from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.
Greece needs the loan to pay its debts.
If the government survives the vote, Greece's parliament will be asked to back the latest spending cuts - worth 28bn euro - on 28 June.
All the indications are that Mr Papandreou will win his vote of confidence with a handful of seats to spare, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.
But one former rebel MP who now plans to vote in favour of the government said the public's tolerance had been used up.
Panagiotis Kouroumplis also warned that politicians were increasingly losing touch with ordinary people demonstrating against the government across the country.
Protesters against the austerity plan again gathered in Syntagma Square in Athens, in front of the Greek parliament.
One protester, Calliope Iris, told the BBC: "The Greek police treat us like criminals. I used to have my own company and had to close it down at the beginning of 2010. The economic climate is forbidding anything new.
"I will continue to go back to Syntagma Square to protest."
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said Greece faces a "moment of truth" when it votes next week on austerity measures.BBC's Gavin Hewitt: "Thousands of protesters are heading for the Greek parliament"
The EU and IMF will only release funds once the austerity measures have been voted through.
"No-one can be helped against their will," Mr Barroso said in Brussels.
"Next week is the moment of truth, where Greece needs to demonstrate that it is genuinely committed to the ambitious package of further fiscal measures and privatisations put forward by Prime Minister [George] Papandreou's government."-bbc
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