Khimki is tied for fourth place in balanced Group A at 2-4 and needs to be strong at home if it wants to stay alive in the competition. Partizan is tied for second place at 5-2 and its second consecutive road win would allow the Serbian powerhouse to almost put both feet in the next round. Partizan released point guard Oliver Lafayette and replaced him with scoring guard Curtis Jerrells, who could give a new dimension to this team due to his leadership and court vision. Petar Bozic may see extended playing time off the bench, offering on-the-ball defense and know-how. Jerrells will not have it easy against creative point guard Raul Lopez, who started in each of the last two games to improve his team's ball circulation. Bozic must use his size and aggressive style against tall, talented playmaker Zoran Planinic. Khimki is facing injury problems, as Keith Langford only played 6 minutes in his team's game this weekend due to a sprained ankle. Langford is expected to play and was left out of the game as a precautionary measure, but he may see limited playing time, too. As such, a recovered Thomas Kelati, Vitaly Fridzon and Vanin Panim will have to step up against Partizan. Kelati faces a critical matchup against Jan Vesely, who can make the difference at small forward with his size, quickness and unbelievable athleticism. Langford and Fridzon are ready to test their scoring skills against two great defensive stoppers such as Jaka Klobucar and Dusan Kecman, who offers clutch performances and silent leadership for the guests. Dragan Milosavljevic comes off a career-best effort against Zalgiris and could be Partizan's X-factor due to his shooting range and explosiveness. Partizan relies on James Gist and Nathan Jawai to make the difference around the baskets. Hard-nosed big man Rasko Katic and versatile forward Branislav Djekic offer a helping hand off the bench. Gist must use his athleticism and range against Sergey Monya. Meanwhile, Jawai is ready for a very interesting battle in the low post against Benjamin Eze and Aleksey Savrasenko. Khimki has a deeper frontcourt, with Kresimir Loncar, who can change every game with his post moves and mid-range shots, while Fedor Dmitriev can open the court with his three-pointers. Above all, expect a very intense game at the Basketball Center of Moscow Region, as both teams are ready to battle for a critical win.

REFEREES: Jose Ramon García Ortíz, Spiros Gkontas, Olegs Latisevs


Game notes, BC Khimki Moscow Region

Keith Langford leads the Euroleague with an average of 6.8 fouls drawn per game.

Langford has made 11 consecutive free throws in Euroleague games.

Ben Eze is 5 blocked shots behind Maceo Baston for seventh place on the list of Euroleague shot blockers. He boasts 95 career blocks in 96 Euroleague games.

Eze has played the most minutes (150) of any player in the Euroleague this season without delivering an assist.

Zoran Planinic had his best Euroleague game in a Khimki uniform in Week 2 against Partizan with 16 points in a 72-68 road loss.

Game notes, Partizan mt:s Belgrade

Dragan Milosavljevic had the best game of his Euroleague career last week with a career-high 19 points. Milosavljevic scored a combined 20 points in the season’s first five games.

Nathan Jawai had his best game of the season with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots for a 24 performance index against BC Khimki in Week 2.

Newcomer Curtis Jerrells could make his Turkish Airlines Euroleague debut this week.

Partizan leads the Euroleague in fouls committed with 25 per game this season.

Sergio Scariolo, BC Khimki Moscow Region head coach:

— We know the importance of this game. I am sure the team will give 100 percent to prolong the concentration from 30-35 minutes to 40 minutes. The fans’ support will be especially important. We respect our opponent a lot as a great traditional team that is at a high level and very ambitious proved by the fact they signed a contract with a new good player. Partizan is a mixture of talent and experience along with a couple of real European basketball stars.

Zoran Planinic, BC Khimki Moscow Region guard:

— We are in a tough situation in Euroleague right now: we have to win at least three games to qualify for the Top 16. Our first aim is to win the game with Partizan. It is especially important for us because we lost in Belgrade in the last seconds, but had a good chance to win. Now we will play at our home court. I’m sure everyone will do everything to win this game because we have to do it. It will not be easy. We have to play more aggressively. Partizan has played the same model of game throughout last six or seven years: They play tough, aggressively, fight, and will try to act well in defense. I think everyone in Partizan’s roster is a hard opponent. We’ll try to meet them fully armed.

Vlade Jovanovic, Partizan m:ts head coach:

— After the first leg and the win against Zalgiris at home, now we have three wins on the road ahead of us and it will be a tough part for us. The first one is against Khimki. The situation now is different than when we first met. We handed them an unexpected loss and they will surealy want to make up for that. I think they have less wins than they expected by now and I am sure that most of their plans are based on winning all the homes games. I think their roster is very balanced and I expect them to be at full power and with lots of motivation. The possibility of us travelling to Russia without a point guard and their motivation worries me right now. We have a team that can win this game, but we will have to be concentrated during the 40 minutes to do that.

Jan Vesely, Partizan mt:s forward:

— We expect a very hard game. We are motivated and we will play hard to win. That is what the coach asks us to do every week and we have to try to accomplish it.