AEL manager Pambos Christodoulou is confident his team will secure progression to the fourth qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League when they face Serbian side Partizan tonight on Wednesday at 9.45pm in Belgrade.

“We go to there in order to qualify,” said Christodoulou whose side hold a slender 1-0 advantage after last Wednesday’s first leg in Cyprus.

“We know that it will be very difficult to achieve what we want, but after the performances of both teams last week, we are definitely entitled to have hopes of advancement,” he concluded.

Christodoulou has no major injury concerns ahead of the clash apart from Brazilian defender Maykon who is struggling to return to full fitness.

Partizan manager Vladimir Vermezovic meanwhile might introduce influential winger Lazar Markovic, who played only in the final five minutes of the first leg, from the kick-off.

“I will make maybe one or two changes compared to the team that played in Cyprus. I would be an unreasonable manager and the club would look silly if I suddenly went and changed eight players.

“If someone is left out of the team that will not mean he played poorly in Cyprus. We simply need a different approach and the roles of the players will be slightly altered,” he added.

Partizan holding midfielder Sasa Markovic was optimistic ahead of AEL’s visit: “Our confidence is not unfounded and I really believe that we can advance to the next round.

“AEL are more physical than us but we control the ball better. The more we succeed in keeping the ball in our possession, the better chance we have of getting the desired result.

“AEL are a team who play fast football, but we also have many players who can cope with their speed. For example, Markovic can handle any of their players on his day. What we need to do is to impose our game on them and, with the support of our fans, it will be very hard for them to resist,” Markovic added.

Cyprus Mail