German giants await winners

With the prize of a meeting against German giants FC Bayern München in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League at stake, Hammarby IF FF and FK Partizan step on to the turf at the Söderstadion to do battle tonight.

Solid squad
Whereas the Swedish hosts are expected to field a side with very little experience in European competition, Partizan travel with a solid squad who have had their share of international action.

Plenty of team spirit
To boost the solidarity in the visitors' camp, the Yugoslavians have made no major changes to their squad over the past three seasons in an effort to preserve team spirit and become the first team from their country to qualify for the prestigious tournament.

Confident Yugoslavians
"We are ready for the matches against the Swedes," said Partizan coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic. "We have a clear picture of Hammarby. They are play a 4-4-2 formation. They are very disciplined, play lots of long balls and are very strong in one-on-one situations. They have a few individual players who we will try to neutralise and impose our style with quick passes on the ground. In fact, everything depends on us." Partizan's only worry is the absence of regular midfield player Goran Trobok, who has influenza and has stayed in Belgrade.

Poor run of form
While the Yugoslavian season still has not started, Hammarby have plenty of match practice going into the first leg of their meeting. However, the reigning Allsvenskan champions have struggled to repeat last season's title-winning success and are currently tenth, only two points off the relegation zone in the Swedish top flight.

Back from injury
Coach Anders Linderoth, father of FIFA World Cup player Tobias, has seen his first the beginning of his tenure at the club disrupted by injuries to key players like Andreas Hermansson and Johan Andersson. Both men are now back in action, though, and Linderoth looks likely to field the same starting eleven which won 1-0 against GIF Sundsvall on Sunday.

Tough game in prospect
Linderoth is expecting a tough game, and belives that Hammarby will be enjoy the majority of the possession with Partizan aiming to grind out a 0-0 draw. Nevertheless, he also added that: "Partizan are a very attack-minded team and are very tactically skilled, but we will have to make use of Hermansson's pace and Peter Markstedt's strength in the air."