The battle for automatic qualification for the 2022 World Cup goes down to the wire in Group A as Portugal host Serbia. Both teams have been inseparable throughout the qualifiers and should serve up another closely fought encounter on Sunday.
Portugal were held to a 0-0 draw by the Republic of Ireland in their previous qualifying fixture. Although they are likely to be disappointed with the result, it was still good enough to take them above Serbia on goal difference.
The task is simple for manager Fernando Santos heading into Sunday’s clash as Portugal are already top of the group. All they have to do to secure the automatic qualification ticket to the Qatar 2022 World Cup is to avoid defeat against the Serbians.
However, Portugal will have reason to be confident of victory having won all three of their home matches in Group A, including a 5-0 victory over Luxembourg last time out. They have won their last 10 home matches in World Cup qualifying, a run stretching back to 2013.
Serbia have matched Portugal every step of the way in these qualifiers and are level on 16 points with their hosts. They are second in the group by virtue of an inferior goal difference and will need an outright win to secure automatic qualification.
Like Portugal, the Serbians are yet to taste defeat the qualifiers and overcame bottom side Azerbaijan 3-1 in their previous fixture in the group. They warmed up for Sunday’s clash with a 4-0 victory over 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar in a friendly on Wednesday.
While Serbia have maintained a similar record with Portugal, they have not been as solid defensively as their hosts. Dragan Stojkovic’s men have kept just one clean sheet in their seven qualifying matches.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Portugal as overwhelming favourites at 4/11 with Unibet, who are also offering odds of 8/1 for a Serbia victory. A draw is set at odds of 4/1 with Vbet.
Head to head
Portugal have never lost to Serbia with three wins and four draws from seven previous matches. Both teams battled to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture back in March.
Players to watch
Aside from the 0-0 draw in Ireland, Portugal have scored in every match in these qualifiers. They have plenty of quality in attack with Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota and Bruno Fernandes and could be backed to find the net at 1/11 with Vbet.
Serbia have also impressed in attack lately with the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic among the goals. The Serbians have scored in every qualifying match and are likely to score in Portugal on Sunday at 9/10 with Vbet.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been over 3.5 goals in the last two matches between Portugal and Serbia and a similar outcome is priced at 19/10 with Vbet. Over 2.5 goals is valued at 5/6 with Unibet, who is also offering 6/5 on both teams to score.
Portugal can also be tipped to earn a win and over 2.5 goals at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This World Cup match between Portugal and Serbia will be played on Nov 14, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Portugal vs Serbia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.