Europa League - Partizan v Tottenham preview

Europa League - Partizan v Tottenham preview: Spurs face tough opening test
Team news, match facts and manager quotes for the Europa League game between Partizan Belgrade and Tottenham.


Europa League - Partizan v Tottenham preview: Spurs face tough opening test


PREAMBLE

Tottenham begin their Europa League Group C campaign on Thursday with a tough-looking match in Serbia against 25-times national champions Partizan Belgrade.

Partizan finished runners-up in the Serbian SuperLiga last term and began this season in the Champions League before being edged out on away goals in the third qualifying round by Ludogorets, who performed superbly against Liverpool on Tuesday.

Pochettino's side have started their domestic league impressively, having claimed seven points from their opening four fixtures, and travel to Serbia in good spirits having picked up a point away to Sunderland on Saturday in a pulsating 2-2 draw.

TEAM NEWS

Petar Skuletic is suspended for the hosts.

Emmanuel Adebayor, Younes Kaboul, Mousa Dembele, Nacer Chadli and Danny Rose have all remained at home for Tottenham's Europa League clash at Partizan Belgrade. The quintet have not travelled to Serbia for a variety of reasons, while a hip injury keeps full-back Kyle Walker out of the Group C encounter. Roberto Soldado is in contention to lead the line at Partizan Stadium after recovering from an issue with his neck and back, while goalkeeper Michel Vorm and centre-back Federico Fazio could make their Tottenham debuts.

MANAGER QUOTES

Marko Nikolic: "Of course you have nothing to lose in this match. We managed to bring back a good competitive rhythm in the game with [Saturday's 4-2 league win against] Cukaricki and now we have the strongest possible opponents at the beginning of this competition, Tottenham. Partizan have partially fulfilled its goal by making the group stage, but I do not want to be mere participants. I want to try to compete at this level, to show how much power we have. We will not make big promises, but we will try to win this match as we do with every match."

Mauricio Pochettino: "Of course the Europa League is a priority for us. All competitions are priorities for us. This year it is very important because the Europa League gives you the possibility to play in the next Champions League. It is an important competition for us. For me all my players are stars. But when we come to a different period, or a different problem or situation we have to analyse the squad and see what is the best condition for us to get three points. but for me Tottenham have a strong squad with different names."

MATCH FACTS

Partizan have lost their last three games against English opponents – including 3-1 home-and-away defeats by Spurs' neighbours Arsenal FC in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage. They have also lost their last three home fixtures against English teams since beating Newcastle United FC 1-0 in a 1998/99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup tie.

Spurs defeated Partizan's arch-rivals FK Crvena zveda 2-1 on aggregate in the third round of the 1972/73 UEFA Cup en route to a semi-final exit to Liverpool FC.

Partizan are unbeaten in six qualifying games this season (W4 D2) – though they lost out to PFC Ludogorets Razgrad after two draws in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

Tottenham have lost just one of their last eight European away games – 1-0 at FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in last season's round of 32 – with that run including five wins.

Partizan have failed to make it through their last five UEFA group stage campaigns since getting to the round of 16 via the inaugural UEFA Cup group stage in 2004/05.

Spurs have a young Serbian talent in their ranks, with Swiss-born 18-year-old defender Miloš Veljković making his first-team debut last season. He will look to make a bigger impact at the club than Goran Bunjevčević, the 'Serbian Beckenbauer' who spent five low-key years at White Hart Lane from 2001 to 2006.

Spurs forward Roberto Soldado could make his 50th UEFA club competition appearance; he has scored 24 goals in his previous 49 outings.

Partizan forward Danko Lazović was a member of the PSV Eindhoven side that eliminated Tottenham 6-5 on penalties in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup round of 16. Lazović had his penalty saved in the shoot-out, but a save from Jermaine Jenas's effort took it into sudden death, where Pascal Chimbonda's miss proved decisive.

Partizan forward Ismaël Fofana was on the books at Spurs' London rivals Charlton Athletic FC, though he spent most of his time with the club out on loan abroad.