Sevilla mindful of Pyrrhic Partizan victory

Sevilla FC can get their UEFA Cup campaign back on track with a win at home against eliminated FK Partizan, but victory for the Serbian side in their last Group C tie would create some major ructions ahead of the final round of fixtures.

• Sevilla were not in action on Matchday 3, and lie second from bottom in the section with three points from two games to date. No combination of results will guarantee them a UEFA Cup last-32 place on 3 December, though only once in the four-year history of the UEFA Cup group stage have six points not been enough to qualify, with Rangers FC missing out in 2004/05.

• The writing is already on the wall for Partizan. They lost their third successive Group C game on Matchday 3, at home against R. Standard de Liège, and are already out of the competition. However, should they win in Seville, they will leave their hosts outside the top three going into a tough final group-stage tie at UC Sampdoria.

• This is Sevilla and Partizan's first meeting in UEFA club competition.

• Sevilla have never met Serbian opponents before, but Partizan have played ten games against Spanish teams over the years, including the final of the 1965/66 European Champion Clubs' Cup, which they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid CF in Brussels.

• The Belgrade side's record against Spanish sides reads W3 D2 L5. Their four previous trips to Spain have been pretty miserable. They lost all those games without scoring once.

• To make their task more daunting, Sevilla are on a nine-match European winning streak at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium. It is eleven games since they succumbed to their only home defeat in European competition, going down 2-1 at home against AZ Alkmaar in the 2006/07 group stage en route to winning the competition.

• Partizan have played five away games in the UEFA Cup group stage without winning once. The only time they have avoided defeat on the road at this stage of the competition came as they drew 2-2 at S.S. Lazio in the 2004/05 competition. They have not scored a goal in four group-stage away games since then.

• Sevilla coach Manuel Jiménez has never faced a Serbian side before.

• Partizan coach Slaviša Jokanović knows a lot about Spanish football having represented Real Oviedo, CD Tenerife, RC Deportivo La Coruña and CF Ciudad de Murcia during his time in the Liga.

• Capped 64 times for Yugoslavia, Jokanović was an important member of the Deportivo squad which won the 1999/00 Spanish title.

• Sevilla boast Serbian talent in the form of defender Ivica Dragutinović, who started his career with Banja Luka side FK Borac. He joined Sevilla from Standard in 2006, having spent several years playing alongside Portuguese midfielder Almani Moreira, who is now a Partizan player.

• Partizan striker Veljko Paunović also knows all about Spanish football having played for Club Atlético de Madrid, RCD Mallorca, Oviedo, Tenerife, Getafe CF and most recently UD Almería.

• Partizan's Juca is serving a one-match suspension after being booked in the defeat against Standard, while Nenad Djordjević and Srdjan Knežević are within a caution of missing their next UEFA club competition game. Ivan Obradović is available again having served a ban on Matchday 3.

• Standard host Sampdoria in Wednesday's other Group C game. Stuttgart are the only side in the section not in action on Matchday 4.

• The draw for the UEFA Cup Round of 32 and Round of 16 will be held at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon on Friday 19 December at 13.00CET. Group winners will be paired with third-placed sides from other UEFA Cup sections, while second-placed finishers will be drawn against one of the eight clubs who finished third in the UEFA Champions League groups. The UEFA Cup group winners and runners-up will play the second leg at home. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.