Preview: Serbia vs Sweden – prediction, team news, lineups
Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Nations League match between Serbia and Sweden, including predictions, team news and possible line-ups.
Still competing for promotion to the highest level UEFA Nations League, Serbia welcome League B Group 4 rivals Sweden to Belgrade on Saturday.
With two rounds remaining, the World Cup finalists are three points behind leaders Norway, while their visitors are busy avoiding relegation to League C.
Match preview
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Although they failed to hold on to a two-goal lead and win their third successive Nations League game last time out, Serbia are still well placed to see off fellow promotion contenders Norway, who come into their final two matches.
The Eagles had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Ljubljana as they let maximum points slip against Slovenia in June, but had already beaten their hosts 4-1 in the reverse fixture before upsetting Sweden in Stockholm.
Only a 1-0 loss against the Norwegians separates them from the top spot, though Dragan Stojkovics side have already collected one more point than in their previous Nations League campaign, where they avoided relegation on goal difference alone.
Indeed, their progress in Europe’s latest international competition reflects a wider trend, as Serbia will take part in another global final at the end of the year.
After finishing clear of group favorites Portugal to win automatic qualification with a victory on the final day – secured in the most dramatic fashion, by Aleksandar Mitrovics 90th-minute winner – the Serbs entered the ongoing Nations League campaign full of confidence.
Now with an eye on the approaching World Cup, Stojkovic’s squad will be keen to impress in their final home game and secure a place on the plane to Qatar.
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Despite a challenging draw, and the prospect of a hangover from a World Cup qualifying failure, Sweden were most pundits’ favorites to win Group 4 before a ball was kicked.
However, they followed an opening win over outsiders Slovenia with three straight defeats – one at home to Saturday’s opponents; the other pair against their close Nordic rivals.
After leaving a bitter taste among the Swedish fans, twice in the space of seven days in June, their national team suffered defeat at the hands of Norway: 2-1 at home and 3-2 away.
Jan Anderssons side – knocked out in the Qatar 2022 play-off final by Poland – therefore sit too far away to challenge for top spot, and instead must at least match Slovenia’s points total in the final two games to avoid a demoralizing relegation to Europe’s third tier.
Having been relegated from League A less than two years ago, such a fate would further fuel the angst of the nation that has become accustomed to mixing it with the top teams – including reaching the quarter-finals in Russia 2018. There is some pressure, therefore, to pick up a positive result before hosting the Slovenians on Tuesday.
Serbia competition format:
Serbia form (all competitions):
Sweden competition form:
Sweden form (all competitions):
Team news
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Although Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic will be absent from the third on Saturday, due to injury, Serbia have named an experienced squad for the conclusion of their Nations League campaign.
Milenkovic’s clubmate Aleksa Terzic will struggle with Juventus winger Filip Kostic to start on the left wing, while another of 11 Italy-based players, Darko Lazoviccan be displayed on the right.
Dragan Stojkovic has struggled to land a regular goalkeeper, but it now appears to be a straight battle between the Torino stopper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and Marko Dmitrovic of Sevilla to start as the hosts’ last line of defence.
The Eagles are particularly stocked in midfield, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic plays an important role in supporting the captain Dusan Tadic and 46-goal record scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic up front. Dusan Vlahovic and Luka Jovic is on the bench.
Meanwhile, Sweden – who will be without the support of traveling fans due to their SvFF’s decision not to release their available tickets for sale – will be without the Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak after he pulled out of the squad in midweek. The 23-year-old has been ruled out of both games this month.
Hence Coventry City’s Viktor Gyokeres have stepped up the pecking order and may even start, as the visitors return to their long-time favorite formation: 4-4-2.
After a failed experiment with a three-man front in the summer, coach Janne Andersson has declared his intention to go back to basics and return the midfield duo Matthias Svanberg and Kristoffer Olsson from suspension is quite timely in that regard.
On the flip side, the meteoric rise of kids Isak Hien could culminate in making his international debut this week: he first started in the Swedish Allsvenskan in April, before later establishing himself alongside Serbia’s Lazovic at Hellas Verona. As Philip Helander, Carl Starfelt and Alexander Milosevic All ruled out, Hien may now find himself at centre-back in Belgrade.
Serbia’s possible starting line-up:
V. Milinkovic-Savic; Pavlovic, Veljkovic, S. Mitrovic; Lazovic, Lukic, Gudelj, Kostic; S. Milinkovic-Savic, Tadic; A. Mitrovic
Sweden’s possible starting line-up:
Olsen; Andersson, Lindelof, Hien, Augustinsson; Kulusevski, Olsson, Svanberg, Forsberg; Elanga, Gyokeres
We say: Serbia 1-0 Sweden
Sweden is going through a transitional phase and is going back to proven methods in the search for its identity – several key players are still short of playing time even at club level. Therefore, Serbia can capitalize by dictating possession and scoring at least once through multiple attacking options.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match, click here.
Top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com tip under 3.5 goals in this match. click here to find out what else they predict for this game and for more of their proven football tips.Under 3.5:data