Qualifying for the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League group stages is fast ending and we have some great games to look forward to on Thursday night.
Just two matches separate the teams from the main tournament and Partizan Belgrade and Besiktas meet in Serbia to claim one of the group stage spots. There should be a cracking atmosphere in this game as the home fans descend on the Stadion Partizana to get behind their team.
This will not be the first time Partizan Belgrade have played at home in the Europa League this season. Having finished second to Red Star Belgrade, their city rivals, in the Serbia Super League last season, Partizan Belgrade entered the first qualifying round of the Europa League .
Trends show they had little difficulty winning their home matches. Partizan Belgrade defeated Ruda 3-0 in the first round, Trakia 1-0 in the second round and Nordsjaelland 3-2 in the third round. Combined with two wins and one draw in the away fixtures Partizan Belgrade are unbeaten in the Europa League this season, having played six games.
Their form has not been as good in the domestic league with 7 points from their four games played but it’s not been a bad start.
Home form has been excellent for Partizan Belgrade and they are undefeated in their last Twenty-three competitive games in all competitions on home soil. Fifteen of those matches have ended in a home win and Partizan Belgrade will be hoping they can make that sixteen with a win.
Despite being only 4 points behind winners Galatasaray in the Turkish Super League, Besiktas finished in fourth place last season. It was a close finish for the title but a fourth place finish saw them enter the Europa League at the second qualifying round stage.
Besiktas faced B36 of the Faroe Islands in the second round and defeated them 2-0 away and 6-0 at home. The third qualifying round paired them with LASK and this proved tricky as Besiktas won 1-0 at home but lost 2-1 away, progressing on the away goals rule.
Domestically, the season has started well for Besiktas and they sit top of the Turkish Super League after two games. However, trends show away matches in the Europa League are not their strength and they have won only three of the last eleven but have scored in each of the last nine.
Team news and Partizan Belgrade will be without former Manchester United player, Zoran Tosic, who is on the treatment table. Every other player should be available having not played on the weekend.
Besiktas will be without Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo who is serving a suspension. However, Croatian central defender Domagoj Vida returned on the weekend and could play some part in the match.
Besiktas are a team capable of scoring goals away from home in Europe and they should find the back of the net in this game. Their away win record is not as impressive while Partizan Belgrade are very good at home and could claim a narrow win, with both teams scoring.