• Date: 08/08/2024
• Competition: Europa League
• KO: 20:00 CET
• Venue: Stadion Partizana (Beograd)

Champions League dropouts Partizan and Lugano meet at Stadion Partizana on Thursday for the first-leg of their Europa League qualifying contest.

Partizan vs Lugano Betting Tips - BTTS

Both teams come into Thursday's contest having seen their dreams of Champions League qualification fall at the hands of Dinamo Kiev and Fenerbahce, respectively. Now with their sights set on Europa League qualification, an intriguing contest is expected between two evenly matched sides. 

Of course, Lugano will fancy their chances having performed more impressively in their 6:4 aggregate loss against Fenerbahce. Contrastingly, Partizan slipped to a painful 9:2 aggregate defeat against Dinamo. 

Partizan did manage to bounce back from last weekend's second-leg defeat with a 2:0 victory against ?elezni?ar Pan?evo in the Serbian Super Liga last weekend. Aleksandar Stanojevi?′s side have picked up three wins from three games played in domestic matches this season.

The Serbs boast a much better record in this competition, particularly in home matches. Partizan won 10 and lost only one of their last 15 home fixtures in the Europa League since 2017. Five of their seven most recent EL matches in Belgrade also saw both teams scoring. 

Lugano make the trip to Stadio Partizana after also bouncing back from UCL elimination with a comfortable 3:1 win against Servette on Sunday. 

The Swiss visitors have enjoyed little success in the Europa League in previous seasons. Lugano failed to win any of their last eight matches in this competition, however their performance against Fenerbahce suggests they should test a weak Partizan defence.

Goals can usually be expected when Mattia Croci-Torti′s side are in action. Each of their last six games saw BTTS, and a minimum of three goals scored. Similar outcomes seem likely on Thursday. 

Ultimately, it's tough to pick a winner, but given both teams recent defensive struggles, I am confident we will see both teams scoring on Thursday. 

BTTS is my only choice for this Europa League qualifying contest.