Getafe vs Partizan – News and Probable Lineups

Spanish side Getafe will face off against Serbian heavyweights Partizan in the upcoming Conference League playoff round on Thursday.

The Azulones will kick off the first leg at the Coliseum, with the return fixture set to take place in Belgrade on August 27.

Match overview

Getafe make their entry into the Conference League during the playoff round after Jose Bordalas guided them to a top-seven finish last season despite operating with one of the smallest budgets in the league.

Bordalas’s signature pragmatic style was evident throughout last season, with his squad finishing as the second-lowest scoring team while possessing the third-best defensive record.

The 62-year-old was at the helm when Getafe last competed in European football during the 2019-20 Europa League, a campaign that concluded with a 2-0 defeat to Italian powerhouses Inter in the Round of 16.

Before embarking on this new European journey, Bordalas will need to motivate his players following a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Alaves during the opening matchday of the domestic season.

Having been reduced to ten men due to Kiko Femenia’s first-half red card, Getafe conceded three goals in the second half, marking a worrying statistic as they have already let in more than 9% of the total goals they gave up throughout the entire 2025-26 La Liga season.

With their focus now shifting towards Thursday’s first leg, the current set of Getafe players can take heart from their past performance at home in European fixtures, achieving victory in 10 out of their last 14 encounters on home soil.

On the other hand, Partizan commenced their Conference League journey in the second qualifying round after finishing third in the Serbian Super Liga last season.

Sasa Ilic, who took over the managerial role in June, observed his team achieve a comprehensive 5-0 aggregate victory over Luxembourg’s UNA Strassen in his first European fixture in charge.

Partizan then progressed past Tobol with a 5-1 aggregate score, including a notable 2-1 victory away in Kazakhstan last Thursday.

They are now just one successful matchup from appearing in the main draw of European competition for the first time since their knockout round appearance in the 2022-23 Conference League.

Nonetheless, it will be a challenging task for a club that has experienced defeats in their last two ties at this stage of the Conference League, suffering a heavy 6-0 loss to Nordsjaelland in 2023 and a 2-0 elimination by Gent in 2024.

Partizan will arrive in Spain following a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Radnicki 1923 in the league, but they have demonstrated resilience on their travels so far this season, having secured three victories and one draw in their four competitive away matches.

Team News

Getafe will be without forward Christantus Uche, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a pre-season match against Monaco.

Juanmi is still on the road to recovery from a long-standing injury, while the availability of new signing Johan Mojica is uncertain as he has not played since Colombia’s defeat to Switzerland in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

Enes Unal, who rejoined Getafe earlier this month, is vying for a starting position after coming off the bench for his second debut during Saturday’s loss to Alaves.

For the visitors, forward Nemanja Trifunovic will need to be evaluated after missing the defeat to Radnicki on Sunday.

After being rested last weekend, former Getafe defender Stefan Mitrovic is expected to feature in a back four alongside Vukasin Djurdjevic, Nikola Simic, and Milan Roganovic.

Erik Kojzek is likely to take the forward role, looking to add to the goal he scored in the second qualifying round.

Getafe probable starting XI:

Soria; Djene, Abqar, Romero; Garcia, Martin, Mangala, Terrats, Davinchi; Unal, Satriano

Partizan probable starting XI:

Krunic; Roganovic, Simic, Mitrovic, Djurdjevic; Baba; Seck, Aleksic, Vukotic, Zubairu; Kojzek

While Getafe may lack some of the match sharpness displayed by Partizan, they are a clever team shaped in Bordalas’s image, and given their promising historic home record in European competitions, they could secure a narrow win on Thursday.