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| MSL: Eternal rivals clash tomorrow |
| 28 September 2007 | 13:53
| Source:
B92 |
Tomorrow sees the first Old Firm derby of the season between Partizan and Red Star at Humska.
 | Partizan players celebrate a rare derby victory (FoNet, archive)
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The form of the two sides going into tomorrow’s clash, the 131st meeting of the Eternal Rivals could not be more contrasting.
While Partizan have made one of their best starts to a season ever, racking up six straight wins in the league, together with a further two in Europe, their opponents tomorrow have made arguably their worst.
A premature exit from the European Cup, on to their second manager of the season, having struggled to beat minnows Teleoptic (effectively Partizan’s second team) in midweek, and already trailing their bitter rivals by nine points in the league, Red Star’s record so far this season makes painful reading.
Indeed, many pundits go so far as to predict that a black-and-white victory tomorrow could all but seal the league, even at this early stage of proceedings.
One thing, however, that the defending champions do have on their side, is history. Since the turn of the millennium, Red Star have lost only two derbies, including last season’s 4-2 defeat at the Marakana.
Even then, Partizan didn’t hang on to the local bragging rights for long as, within a month, Red Star had registered a further two 1-0 victories, to wrap up both the league title and the Cup.
And, clearly this historical advantage is a source of great inspiration for tomorrow’s underdogs. Ivan Ranđelović, their goalkeeper, boldly predicts: “In the seven years I’ve been at Red Star, I’ve only lost once to Partizan. I don’t think that figure is going to change after tomorrow’s match.,” adding that, “Red Star and Partizan play more for pride than points."
"The derby is a special occasion, so that league position goes out of the book. Even though our rivals have a big lead, I wouldn’t say they were favorites.”
Meanwhile, Partizan’s star player, Montenegrin international Stevan Jovetić, despite the respective starts of the clubs so far, is unwilling to get carried away, as his side seek to record their first home win in an Old Firm derby since 2001, saying: “Red Star have a good team, and anyone who thinks we’ll have it easy tomorrow is gravely mistaken,” adding, “If we play as we have done thus far this season, our opponents will have to worry about us more than we about them.”
Both sides go into the match without any serious injury worries. The home side will still be without the injured Ivan Obradović and Slaven Stjepanović, while Brazilian Zuka is also a doubt after pulling a hamstring in the midweek cup victory over Rad. He will undergo a fitness test before a decision is made on whether he will play.
For the visitors, Igor Burzanović has recovered from injury, while club captain Dejan Milovanović, despite undergoing a facial operation only a week ago, could still play with the aid of a mask.
Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 7 p.m., with a close to capacity crowd expected.
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