Milos on challenge in Serbia

Milos Veljkovic knows Serbia better than most – and he says we face a ‘big challenge’ against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The young defender played for Serbia Under-21s only last week as they dramatically secured a place in the European Under-21 Championship play-offs. They now face holders Spain over two legs for a place in next summer’s finals.

Partizan players Nemanja Petrovic and Andrija Zivkovic were part of the Serbia squad and Milos, who made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in the second leg of our Europa League play-off win against AEL, said all the talk was of our Group C opener.

“Nemanja and Andrija are very good young players and I know they are very important to Partizan,” he said. “I was speaking to them last week and they are looking forward to this game.

“Partizan is a great club in Serbia, they have a strong support and have been champions on many occasions.

“Partizan and Red Star Belgrade are especially strong at home. They are always in the Champions League and that shows their quality. It will be a big challenge for us.

“I go to Serbia every summer for the holidays and I’m looking forward to this one.”