Ħamrun Spartans start as clear underdogs in Thursday’s UEFA Conference League Play Off round against Serbian giants FK Partizan. Serbian journalist Milan Zdravkocic spoke with Gianluca Lia and gave an insight on what the Spartans can expect in Belgrade on Thursday night.

Partizan Belgrade’s two-legged tie against Ħamrun Spartans comes at a very delicate moment in their season.

For Partizan Belgrade, this UEFA Conference League tie is very important because should they get eliminated by the Maltese club, that would halt their run in Europe already by August.

Last season, the Serbian side reached the last 16 of the same competition before being eliminated by eventual finalists Feyenoord.

They launched this season’s European journey with a third qualifying round tie against Cypriot side AEK Larnaca, in the UEFA Europa League.

A 2-1 defeat in Cyprus and 2-2 on home soil saw Partizan Belgrade drop into the Europa Conference League amid the frustration of the home fans who made their thoughts clear in the aftermath of last week’s game.

If their league form is anything to go by, Partizan are struggling to find their form as they have only registered eight points in five league matches so far.

Their latest league outing was a trip to Mladost which earned them their first win under new coach Gordan Petric, courtesy of a 95th-minute winner.

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