In the first leg of the third Europa League qualifying round, Partizan are set to host Lugano at Stadion Partizana on Thursday.
The home side are first in Serbia's top flight with nine points after three matchweeks, as are the Swiss visitors, who are also top of their league with nine points after three games.
Match preview
![FC Lugano Coach Mattia Croci Torti during his side's game against FC Basel at Stadion St Jakob Park Basel, SWITZERLAND on July 27, 2024 [on August 6, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/32/mattia-croci-torti.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "FC Lugano Coach Mattia Croci Torti during his side's game against FC Basel at Stadion St Jakob Park Basel, SWITZERLAND on July 27, 2024 [on August 6, 2024]")
© Imago
The hosts were eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers after losing 9-2 on aggregate against Dynamo Kyiv in the second round, subsequently dropping into the Europa League qualifiers.
Despite taking the lead after 22 minutes in the first leg against Dynamo on July 23, Partizan lost 6-2 before losing the second leg 3-0 on July 31.
The Black-Whites last played in the Europa League qualifiers in the 2022-23 season, when they lost 4-3 on aggregate in the third round of qualifying against AEK Larnaca.
Partizan finished second in the league last season with 78 points from 37 games, and they have started their 2024-25 domestic campaign with three wins and three clean sheets,
The hosts will have to win an additional tie after their matchup against Lugano if they are to reach the group stage of the Europa League, and should they be successful it would be their first time since 2017-18.
However, Partizan have only won twice in their last six home games, and this will be of concern to manager Aleksandar Stanojevic, who has been in charge since June 2024.
![Aleksandar Stanojevic of Partizan Belgrade during his side's UEFA Champions League Play-Off Second Qualifying Round, First Leg against Dynamo Kiev - on July 23, 2024 [on August 6, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/32/aleksandar-stanojevic.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Aleksandar Stanojevic of Partizan Belgrade during his side's UEFA Champions League Play-Off Second Qualifying Round, First Leg against Dynamo Kiev - on July 23, 2024 [on August 6, 2024]")
© Imago
Opponents Lugano were also eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers after losing 6-4 on aggregate against Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce in the second round.
The visitors lost the first leg 4-3 on July 23 in a closely fought contest in which they scored first after just four minutes, had 55% possession and had seven shots inside Fenerbahce's penalty area.
Lugano lost the second leg 2-1 on July 30, but while they had 10 shots in the game and scored first after seven minutes, they struggled to create many clear opportunities in front of goal.
They have started the 2024-25 Swiss Super League in strong form and have won all three of their games, scoring seven goals in the process.
Manager Mattia Croci-Torti's side finished last campaign in second place with 65 points from 38 games and were eliminated from the Europa League after losing 3-0 on aggregate in the fourth and final stage against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Croci-Torti's team come into Thursday's clash having won just once in their last four competitive away games, though prior to this they won six of their previous seven games on the road.
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Team News
![Nikola Antic of Partizan Belgrade in his side's UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie against Dynamo Kiev on July 23, 2024 [on August 6, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/32/niokla-antic.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Nikola Antic of Partizan Belgrade in his side's UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie against Dynamo Kiev on July 23, 2024 [on August 6, 2024]")
© Imago
In their second leg defeat against Dynamo Kyiv, the hosts made four changes to the XI that started the first leg loss, and these players can be expected to make a return to the starting lineup on Thursday.
As such, expect the likes of Nathan De Medina and Nikola Antic to start in defence for Partizan, while Kervin Arriaga could return to midfield.
Although the visitors were eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers, their strong showing against Fenerbahce could mean that boss Croci-Torti fields a similar XI.
Expect Ayman El Wafi and Milton Valenzuela to start at centre-back and left-back respectively, while Uran Bislimi could start in an advanced midfield position behind striker Ignacio Aliseda.
Partizan possible starting lineup:
Jovanovic; De Medina, Markovic, Mujakic, Antic; Arriaga, Jun-Goh, Zahid; Kalulu, Saldanha, Severina
Lugano possible starting lineup:
Saipi; Zanotti, Papadopoulos, El Wafi, Valenzuela; Doumbia, Grgic; Bottani, Bislimi, Cimignani; Aliseda
We say: Partizan 1-2 Lugano
While Lugano's elimination from the Champions League qualifiers will have been disappointing to fans, they did perform well against Fenerbahce, and could cause problems for Partizan's defence.
Additionally, the hosts' aggregate 9-2 defeat against Dynamo Kyiv highlighted many defensive vulnerabilities in the team which could be exploited on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
