Partizan Belgrade vs Manchester United 25/10/19

25 October 2019

Manchester United will be looking to post their first competitive triumph since mid-September when they take on Partizan Belgrade in the UEFA Europa League (EL) at the Stadion Partizana this week.

The hosts have been a force to be reckoned with during the ongoing EL campaign, picking up four points from their first two fixtures. Sitting top of the section, level on points with United, the Belgrade side come into this meeting fresh from a 2-1 away win over Astana after previously playing out a 2-2 home draw with AZ Alkmaar. The Black-Whites have secured their sixth group stage berth by bowing out Connah’s Quay and Malatyaspor in the qualifying before dumping out Molde in the play-offs 3-2 on aggregate (2-1 H, 1-1 A). As a result, they are now unbeaten in 11 straight European home fixtures, qualifying included (W8, D3). However, picking up home triumphs in the EL group stage has so far proved to be an uphill task for Partizan, who have lost seven of their last 16 such matches (W4, D5, L7).

Meanwhile, the visitors have struggled to impress in Europe this term, although they have grabbed four points from their opening two Group L fixtures. After beating Astana 1-0 at home, the Red Devils have set an unwanted record in a dismal goalless away draw against AZ Alkmaar, as it was the first time in their history that they’ve failed to produce a single shot on target in an EL match. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be pleased to know that United have racked up a six-game unbeaten away run in the EL group stage ahead of this trip (W3, D3), although their overall away record is not as good as they would like it to be (W4, D3, L5). Also, the Premier League giants are winless in their last six outings in all competitions (D4, L2), with all of those matches featuring under 2.5 goals.