Partizan is home to Tekstilac on Saturday (6.30pm CET kick-off) as part of Mozzart Bet Serbian Super Liga round 11 fixtures.
H2H
Partizan and SSL debutants Tekstilac are yet to meet for a league encounter.
TEAM NEWS
Marko Zivkovic (knee surgery) remains the only long-term absentee. Jurcevic (muscle strain) did not return to training yet. Mihajlo Ilic was subbed in pain against Mladost last weekend and didn`t return to training as well. Arriaga missed the last game and is likely to miss another one due to his recent injury troubles.
New Partizan boss Savo Milosevic attended his first pre-match presser in his second coaching spell with the club:
-More or less, what`ve seen over the past three training days is what we expected - team is under great psychological pressure. This happens all over Europe and the world, such pressure is an obstacle and it reflects on the football field. Players need to be ready to sacrifice for each other, to try and use their character to overcome this poor spell in the next three to four games. Good results are the best medicine. We need to relax our team and reduce that pressure. The good thing is their physicality is on a good level, desire is there too and players do care. That`s a good foundation to start with. It shows they are aware of everything and ready to make a sacrifice for us to leave these troubled days behind.
Huge pressure can be visible when you see player`s gestures and behavior. It was clear to me watching them play away to Mladost as they made mistakes as a result of pressure, not quality related ones. Speaking to players, I learned that game was very stressful to them, they were on the verge of snapping. But, physical aspect is important and they are aware they have be more than hundred percent to win the games.
The quality we have will not be crucial in the next few games, it`s all about desire. This team showed they can do more in some matches. We had Lugano on the ropes in European qualifiers and things could have been different all the way. It`s all about pitch and results on it. The essence is what we show on the field. Luckily, we have international break coming up so we`ll have some more time.
