Lucescu warns Shakhtar not to take Partizan lightly

While FK Partizan are yet to collect a single point in UEFA Champions League Group H, their visitors, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, know they can book their place in the round of 16 should they win and SC Braga fail to triumph against Arsenal FC. The Ukrainian titleholders head into the game on a high after beating Arsenal themselves on Matchday 4 but know not to take Partizan lightly, with Aleksandar Stanojević's side determined the give their supporters at least one victory to cheer in the section.

Aleksandar Stanojević, Partizan coach
Unfortunately this game doesn't have any competitive meaning for us, but we owe it to our fans, for having supported us in the Champions League, to give our best and get a positive result.

You don't need any additional motivation in the Champions League; the money is not important because we have always dreamed about playing in this competition. The fact that Shakhtar outplayed us in terms of possession in the last game may be a motivating factor, we will try to be better in that respect this time. As for the wet weather, the pitch here is always the same and for us, that's good. It is going to be a little bit faster than usual, but I don't think the weather conditions are going to affect the game too much.

Mircea Lucescu, Shakhtar coach
We will go for the win. We came to Belgrade a day earlier so that we can rest for a match that is important for us. My players will give their best so that we can get the three points. Last year the pitch was very bad because of the snow, and now it is raining, but we will make sure that we play with maximum concentration. In the Champions League every point makes a difference, so for both us and our opponent every match counts. I don't think that Partizan will give up easily.

Team news
• Partizan
Cléo has long since recovered from a minor knee injury leaving Partizan with a full-strength squad.

• Shakhtar
Darijo Srna and Eduardo sat out the weekend game against FC Zorya Luhansk having returned from international duty with minor injuries. Fernandinho is expected to be out until 2011 after breaking his right leg on 10 September.

Weekend results
20/11/10 FK Čukarički 2-4 Partizan
(Cakić 76 90+2; Iliev 7, Babović 23, Moreira 30, Cléo 56)
Cléo scored for the second successive league game and set up two others as Partizan eased past struggling Čukarički. Partizan have won their last nine matches in domestic competition, and 18 of their 20 league games since Stanojević took over in April.

20/11/10 FC Zorya Luhansk 1-3 Shakhtar
(Xhihani 68; Vitsenets 20, Moreno 45+1, Luiz Adriano 74)
Vitaliy Vitsenets scored his first goal for Shakhtar as the Pitmen claimed their eighth successive victory. They have won 23 of their 26 fixtures this term. Lucescu's side have lost just two of their last 35 matches in all competitions.

Did you know?
As coach of FC Dinamo Bucureşti, Lucescu got the better of Partizan in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final, the Romanian team winning 2-1 at home and 2-0 away.

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