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Ranked by the Daily Mail as the 4th-greatest football rivalry of all time, the Eternal Derby is the clash between two most popular Serbian clubs, Red Star (Crvena Zvezda) and Partizan. The 158th instalment of the Eternal Derby takes place this Sunday afternoon at Partizan Stadium.
Who’s gonna be the happier side when the ref blows the final whistle? Maybe this Partizan vs Red Star match preview will help you find the answer!
Partizan
Earlier this week, Partizan played a Super Liga game against FK Rad, which they won 1:0. A peculiar thing about this match was the strangely low attendance. Even though the game was played at Partizan Stadium which has the capacity of nearly 33,000 seats, only about 2,500 spectators showed up. Truth be told, the weather in Belgrade that day wasn’t great and the match started at 5 PM on Wednesday, which might not have been most convenient for working people.
But, there’s another reason for the poor attendance – Partizan fans have a grudge against the club management. Even though Partizan is owned by the state (same as Red Star) and plenty of money is pumped into the club every year, their balance is negative all the time. For that reason, they had to sell a couple of promising players this summer, as well as refrain from making any big-money transfers.
The result is that they haven’t been playing as they’re expected to. After eight rounds of the 2018/2019 season of Serbian Super Liga, Partizan have only 19 points. I say “only” because they’re trailing their arch-rivals by two points, plus Red Star have played one game fewer. This means that if they win, they can get to the top of the table. But, if they lose on Sunday, their title dreams might get burnt.
So, the big question is do Partizan have the player quality to win, or at least not lose to Red Star. Well, judging by their performance in the game against FK Rad, they stand no chance. Partizan beat FK Rad 1:0, even though the visitors played with 10 men from 64’. Even worse is the fact that Partizan had only 3 goal attempts in the second half.
Actually, this team has been dreadful in attack this season. They scored more than one goal in only one game so far. It was the one against Macva, a team that’s one of the biggest underdogs in the league.
Red Star
The team that won the European Cup in 1991, the predecessor of the Champions League, is back in the elite Euro competition. Their first Champions League match in the 21st century took place at the Rajko Mitic Stadium a.k.a. Marakana in Belgrade this Tuesday. The opponent was Napoli and the plan was to win at least a point.
And they did it! Red Star started their Champions League campaign with a goalless draw with the mighty Napoli, which put a smile on the faces of the fans and players alike. Red Star are now confident they’re gonna keep on playing well and win themselves three points on Sunday.
Speaking of confidence, they really must feel great about themselves for the fact that they’re unbeaten in 31 games in a row. And the last time Red Star lost in Super Liga was almost a year ago.
Probable Lineups
Partizan
Vladimir Stojkovic (GK) – Svetozar Markovic (CB), Marc Valiente (CB), Nemanja Miletic (DR), Nemanja Miletic (DL) – Danilo Pantic (MC), Sasa Zdjelar (MC), Goran Zakaric (MR), Marko Jankovic (ML) – Nemanja Nikolic (FC), Ricardo Gomes (FC)
Red Star
Milan Borjan (GK) – Vujadin Savic (DC), Milan Degenek (DC), Filip Stojkovic (DR), Milan Rodic (DL) – Nenad Krsticic (MC), Branko Jovicic (MC), Goran Causic (MC) – El Fardou Ben (AMR), Marko Marin (AML), Richmond Boakye (FC)
Partizan vs Red Star Match Prediction
Anything but a convincing Red Star win would be a big surprise. And it’s rather strange that the bookies don’t see this. They’re basically throwing away their money by giving such high odds on Red Star.
Red Star @ 2.25
