Young Boys v Partizan background

• #EQUALGAME
This week, football fans watching UEFA Europa League matches in stadiums, online and on TV will witness the premiere of the new UEFA RESPECT TV ads, called #EqualGame. The adverts feature Ada Hegerberg, Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Cristiano Ronaldo and amateur players and will run throughout the season to promote inclusion, diversity and accessibility in European Football with the motto "Everyone has the right to enjoy football, no matter who you are, where you're from, or how you play." More information on the campaign and on the advertisements can be found in the accompanying media release and on the campaign website: www.equalgame.com.

Young Boys may need to raise their game as they welcome Partizan in UEFA Europa League Group B.

Previous meetings
• The teams are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.

• In their only past encounters with Serbian opposition, Young Boys were eliminated by Crvena zvezda in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round – drawing 2-2 at home but losing 3-0 in Belgrade.

• Partizan were knocked out of the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League play-offs by Swiss rivals, following up a 1-0 victory against Thun with a 3-0 loss in Switzerland. Young Boys' Sékou Sanogo featured in both legs for Thun.

Form guide
• Swiss Super League runners-up last term, Young Boys have won three of their last four European home matches, including August's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round scalp of Dynamo Kyiv.

• Partizan are unbeaten in five European away fixtures (W2 D3).

• Defeated home and away by CSKA Moskva in the UEFA Champions League play-offs, Young Boys are now competing in the UEFA Europa League group stage for the fifth time, having made it through twice in four appearances.

• Serbian league and cup winners in 2016/17, Partizan have reached the UEFA Europa League group stage for the fifth time in the competition's current incarnation, but are yet to progress to the round of 32.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Belgrade to Berne is just over 1,000km.

• Young Boys' Miralem Sulejmani started his career at Partizan but made just one brief substitute appearance in November 2005 before being signed by Heerenveen.

• Partizan's Everton Bilher played in Switzerland with Lugano (2013–14) and St Gallen (2014–16).

• Partizan's Nemanja Antonov is on loan from another Swiss side, Grasshoppers, whom he joined in 2015.

The coaches
• Austrian coach Adi Hütter has been in charge of Young Boys since September 2015. A midfielder who spent the bulk of his career with Salzburg, he returned to lead the club to a domestic double in 2014/15 after managerial spells at Altach and Grödig.

• Miroslav Djukić was assigned a second stint as Partizan coach in June 2017, having occupied the helm in 2007. The 48-times capped Yugoslavia sweeper played in Spain with Deportivo and Valencia, and spent much of the last decade coaching there too.