Greek party leaders have agreed on house speaker Filippos Petsalnikos to head the country's new coalition government, barring any last-minute changes, sources from the two major parties said on Wednesday.

We have agreed on Petsalnikos but things can change between now and when the prime minister sees the president, a source close to the discussions between the ruling Socialists and the conservative opposition New Democracy told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras had been locked in talks since Sunday on who will lead a new government to take the country to elections in February.

(Reporting by Dina Kyriakidou and Harry Papachristou; Writing by Ingrid Melander)