TipResumen

INTRODUCTION

Besiktas will start this match as the favourites, despite having a lot of problems with Austrian LASK in their previous round and were saved in the last moments from elimination. Partizan has already passed three qualifying rounds and they did not have any problems as they did not lose any games. However they did started their new championships quite poorly. Besiktas on the other hand, started their season with two wins.



FK PARTIZAN BELGRADE

They started the competition from the first round and they have played six matches in the qualifying round and they have yet to experience any defeats. They easily beat Rudar from Monte Negro with two wins, and after that they had slight problems with the team from Trakai, which they won by a slim margin at home and drew away from home. They then beat Danish Nordsjaelland home and away despite it was expected they would have problems with them. They are one step away from the group stage but this is a really difficult opponent they are up against now. They did not start their championships in the best manner and they have made one win and one draw in their last four games. They also have problems scoring goals. They have already replaced coach Djukic with new coach Zoran Mirkovic as their new coach. In the meantime thry brought in midfielder Scekic but they are likely to start with the same team that played with Nordsjaelland.



BESIKTAS

Last season they played in the Champions League and managed to reached the last 16. However they failed to defend their title in their domestic championships and they failed to make it to the Champions League and only made it to the qualifying of the Europa League. They came through easily against Irish Torshavn in the second qualifying round but then Austrian LASK almost beat them. They won at home by 1-0, and they were down in the second leg by 0-2 and thanks to a goal scored by substitute Negredo in the last minute they got through despite losing by 2-1. However, Negredo got a red card after scoring the goal so he will not be able to play in this match now. He will be solely missed as he also scored a goal for them in the Championships, where Besiktas started with two wins. They did not meet any strong teams as they beat Akhisar at home and Erzurumspor away. They did not bring in any good players in the transfer window, while they lost the likes of goalkeeper Fabri, center-backs Tosic and Mitrovic, and striker Talisco.



PAST MEETINGS

They met in Europa League in 2014 and Besiktas won on both occasions.