On Wednesday FK Partizan comfortably won the Serbian Cup Final over 2nd Division Club Side, FK Zemum 3:0. With that win, FK Partizan win their first hard ware in over 2 years and their first Serbian Cup trophy. With their grasp of the title and a 3 point lead in the standings, Partizan will be in at least the UEFA Cup next season as either the Cup winner or 2nd place club.

If Partizan maintain their lead in the league with 3 matches remaining, their Cup winner Spot in the UEFA will be given to runner-ups FK Zemun. If FK Zemun do decide to register for the competitions, they surely will be only 2nd division side to participate in the competition. At this moment, it seems highly unlikely that the small club from Belgrade will actually register for the competition and this spot will hotly contested by the clubs in the 1st division.

If the season was to end today, Partizan would begin their European conquest in Early August in the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League as a seeded side. Last year was a disapointing campaign for the Gravediggers who were suspended from the UEFA Cup after travelling fans caused problems. Partizan will want to shake off that problem from last year and focus on doing well and depending on the draw, they do have the potential of qualifying in the Champions League.

while FK Red Star Belgrade could still pip Partizan for the title, they know that they will be at least playing in the UEFA Cup next year, starting off in the first qualifying round. FK Vojvodina, even with their problems off the pitch will also be back in Europe as they too will be taking place in the 1st qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. Both Vojvodina and Red Star have the potential of at least reaching the 1st round but probably only Red Star can qualify for the group stage of the Cup.

As for the third club, it all depends on FK Partizan. If Partizan fall apart in the league and lose their grip on the title, they will represent Serbia in the UEFA Cup as the Domestic Cup winner, thus allowing the league's 4th placed team to take the 3rd spot. If Partizan win the league and FK Zemun register for European Competitons, then they will have that 3rd spot. As mentioned above, it seems highly unlikely that FK Zemun who are struggling to even stay in the 2nd divison, will participate as the cost of flying outside of Serbia might be too much for the side. With that, it allows a few clubs in Serbia to really have some incentive to play hard for the 3 remaining matches.

Currently the standings are as such:

1. Partizan 71pts
2. Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) 68pts
3. Vojvodina 56pts

Vojvodina will finish in 3rd and have ensured a spot in Europe, while Partizan and Zvezda could still swap spots.

But the rest of the league is pretty tight

1. (4.) Borac Cacak 40pts
2. (5.) Napredak 38pts
3. (6.) Cukaricki 34pts
4. (7.) Hajduk Kula 33pts
5. (8.) Smederevo 33pts
6. (9.) OFK 33pts
7. (10.) Mladost Lucani 32pts
8. (11.) Banat 28pts
9. (12.) Bezanija 17pts

While Bezanija are already relegated and Banat who can only finish with a maximum of 37 points every other club has the potential to play in Europe. In Serbia, the 10th place club is not automatically relegated but play against a playoff side from the 2nd division. With that, every club from 4th to 11th are still trying to avoid possible relegation.

Wednesday round 31 can really open up the relegation battle. The Schedule is as such:

(Home clubs first)

• OFK Beograd - Partizan,
• Banat - Crvena zvezda,
• Smederevo - Vojvodina,
• Mladost Lucani - Borac,
• Hajduk Kula - Napredak
• Cukaricki - Bežanija.

On Wednesday after these matches, I will take a look at the standing and discuss my views on what the last two games for each club could do to the standings.