Having come out top in a nail-biting Albanian title fight, Partizani Tirana host Belarusian behemoths BATE Borisov in the first leg of their Champions League first-round qualifying tie at Arena Kombetare on Tuesday night.
The victors will vie for a spot in the third round against Cypriot giants Aris Limassol, while the losers will transfer to the Europa Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round.
Match preview
The two sides from Tirana have dominated the Albanian football landscape for the past few years, and both Partizani Tirana and KF Tirana entered the final matchday in the 2022–23 Kategoria Superiore level on points at the top of the division.
Partizani took advantage of a KF slip-up in the penultimate gameweek to start the 36th matchday in first place, and by keeping their composure to secure a 2-0 win over Teuta Durres, the Red Bulls ended a four-year wait for another top-flight crown.
Both Partizani and KF ended the season with 67 points to their name, and the Red Bulls actually had an inferior goal difference of +19 compared to their adversaries' +23, but their head-to-head results proved telling; the champions overcame KF 2-0 in March before a 1-1 draw two months later.
Having led the hosts to their desired objective, manager Giovanni Colella left his post after just one season to hand the reins to the Croatian Zoran Zekic, who faces quite the baptism of fire in his first match in charge of Partizani.
The Red Bulls competed in the first round of Europa Conference League qualifying last season, but they were eliminated on penalties to Saburtalo, and they have only ever got past the first round of Champions League qualifying on one occasion, progressing to round three in 2016-17 before being sent packing by Red Bull Salzburg.
As a match-fixing scandal tarnished the image of Belarusian football last year, the innocent BATE Borisov - who finished third in the 2022 top flight behind Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Energetik-BGU Minsk - benefitted from their rivals' misdemeanours and were awarded the sole spot in the Champions League qualifying rounds.
The visitors' dominance in Belarus is no more, though, as after winning 13 consecutive Premier League crowns between 2006 and 2018, BATE Borisov are yet to add to their league cabinet and have not pulled up trees in their efforts to end that drought.
Indeed, Kirill Alshevskiy's side have only won six of their opening 14 league matches in the 2023 season to sit fourth in the table - 10 points below table-toppers Neman Grodno - but they have belatedly shown signs of life in recent matches.
After putting an extraordinary 13 unanswered goals past Miory in the Belarusian Cup, BATE defeated Neman 1-0 in top-flight action on July 1, before following that up with a 2-0 triumph over Shakhtyor Soligorsk thanks to goals from Denis Laptev and Valeriy Gromyko.
Since their fifth and most recent Champions League group-stage appearance in 2016, the Yellow-Blues have suffered back-to-back second-round eliminations in the Europa Conference League qualifiers, but Alshevskiy's men are a team on the up as they prepare to lock horns with Partizani Tirana for the first time ever.
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Team News
While Croatian native Zekic is now trying his hand in Albania, striker Klevis Dragaj has gone in the opposite direction, departing Partizani for NK Lokomotiva after netting 10 goals in 13 games during the 2022-23 campaign.
To make up for Dragaj's lost goals, the Albanian champions have secured the services of 21-year-old Albers Keko, although he is still facing intense competition to start in the final third.
Kosovan midfielder Adnard Mehmeti has been their most expensive investment so far this summer - arriving for £85,450 from KF Erzeni - and the 22-year-old could immediately be brought into the engine room.
As for BATE, Laptev - who opened his account for the season last time out - will not get the chance to keep the momentum going here, as he must serve a European suspension for the first leg.
Alshevskiy is not exactly blessed with prolific options up front, but Aleksandr Shestyuk should fill the void left by Laptev, and the visitors have no fresh concerns to report on the injury front from their most recent league affair.
Partizani Tirana possible starting lineup:
Qirko; Sota, Preka, Sembene; Hadroj, Murataj, Rrapaj, Mehmeti, Gueye; Cara, Mba
BATE Borisov possible starting lineup:
Kudravets; Malkevich, Martynov, Bane, Jimoh; Bocherov, Grechikho; Antilevskiy, Gromyko, Kontsevoy; Shestyuk
We say: Partizani Tirana 1-2 BATE Borisov
Hitting a rich vein of form at just the right time, a revitalised BATE Borisov side can maintain their winning sequence in Tirana, as Partizani's lack of practice is sure to catch up to them.
The visitors are noticeably lacking an in-form number nine, but Partizani would often struggle to keep the back door shut last term and will surely travel to Hungary for the second leg needing to overturn a narrow deficit.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
