Partizan and Dnipro prepare for return

With the UEFA Cup set to resume after its winter break, uefa.com looks at the form of the 32 clubs involved in first-leg ties this week.

FK Partizan v FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Partizan have had plenty of time to prepare, with their last domestic league game more than two months ago and their last competitive match their Group E game against Middlesbrough FC, a 3-0 loss on 15 December. With the Serbo-Montenegrin winter break extended a week until 26 February due to exceptionally cold conditions, Vladimir Vermezovic's side took on FK Hajduk Beograd in a friendly on Sunday, winning 3-1. Goalkeeper Ivica Kralj, Milivoje Cirkovic and Nikola Grubješic were all absent with flu but will be fit to face Dnipro.

Partizan have also been on training camps in the Tara mountain region and the Turkish coastal resort of Antalya, where they lost friendlies to FC Basel 1893, Grasshopper-Club and HNK Hajduk Split; their first meeting with their old rivals since both played in the Yugoslavian top flight 14 years ago. However, they beat another Swiss side, FC St. Gallen, and have been busy in the transfer market. Korean defender Chi-woo Kim and Nigerian Emmanuel Odita have joined, with striker Bojan Brnovic loaned to FK Obilic and five others departing. Serbo-Montenegrin international Cirkovic (ankle) and fellow defender Milovan Milovic (shoulder) have both recovered from injuries, although Pierre Boya misses the first leg through suspension.

Registered players: Chi-woo Kim, Obiora Emmanuel Odita.
Players out: Ivan Babic, Bojan Brnovic, Dragoljub Jeremic, Branislav Atanackovic, Nebojsa Marinkovic, Ivan Stankovic.

Dnipro, like Partizan, have not played a league game for more than two months. They have also been on winter training camp in Turkey, where they defeated FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast (2-0) and SC Rotor Volgograd (2-0) and lost to PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv (0-3) and FC Dinamo Dresden (1-2). Dnipro impressed in the first half of the season by winning UEFA Cup Group C, but unlike Partizan, who are undefeated in 15 league games, their league form has been indifferent and they will resume the Ukrainian season next month in sixth position, 16 points adrift of the leaders FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

However, Dnipro remain contenders to win the Ukrainian Cup and will face Shakhtar for a place in the final. Coach Euhen Kucherevskiy has added a Belarussian to a squad which contained only Ukrainians in the group stage with the acquisition of Siarhei Karnilenka, a striker who spent two seasons at FC Dynamo Kyiv. Midfield player Ruslan Bidnenko and defender Viacheslav Shevchuk have also been recruited.

Registered players: Viacheslav Shevchuk, Ruslan Bidnenko, Siarhei Karnilenka.
Players out: None.