AEK Larnaca will host Partizan at the AEK Arena in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League qualifier on Thursday night.
AEK Larcana started their European qualification campaign in the second round of the Champions League, where they fell to 4-3 defeat in penalties against Midtjylland of Denmark. The two played out a 2-2 draw on aggregate before the spot kicks that saw Larcana park their bags to the Europa League.
The Cypriotes played above their expectations over the two legs against the Dens and they will be expected to carry on the same on Thursday. They are yet to kick off the new domestic campaign, but they are solid at home and we believe they are able to take home advantage against a struggling Partizan.
The Serbian champions, Partizan, will begin their European qualification campaign in here in the third round of the Europa League, but have a lot to do if there are going to go through to the group stage. The SuperLiga champions have made a disappointing start to their defence of the title as they have only won one of their opening four matches, picking up two draws and a defeat in the process.
The defeat came last Friday where they fell to 1-0 away defeat to Novi Pazar, making it three winless matches. They will be looking to end the run on Thursday as they edge closer to the competition proper and a win will also boost their confidence on their return to the domestic league.
Larnaca vs Partizan head to head
This is will be the first encounter between the two sides and expect a closely-contested clash. take a look at their previous results;
Home
- Larnaca 3-4 Midtjylland
- Midtjylland 1-1 Larnaca
- APOEL 2-2 Larnaca
- Kisvarda FC 2-2 Larnaca
- Apollon Limassol 0-1 Larnaca
Away
- Novi Pazar 1-0 Partizan
- Partizan 0-0 TSC Backa Topola
- Radnicki Nis 3-3 Partizan
- Javor 0-4 Partizan
- Fenerbahce 1-0 Partizan
AEK Larnaca team news
AEK Larnaca will have fully-fit squad to choose from, besides Andreas Paraskevas who is sidelined with an injury.
Partizan team news
Partizan will be without Nemanja Jovic and Danilo Pantic due to injury.
Prediction and odds
- Draw
- Both sides to score
- Goals over 1.5
