England's Euro 2024 campaign will begin on Sunday evening when they take on Serbia at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
As ever, the hype around the Three Lions is significant coming into the tournament, but they would be wise not to underestimate Serbia on Sunday despite Serbia's poor showing at World Cup and their harder-than-expected qualifying for this tournament.
That being said, Serbia come into the tournament on the back of an impressive 3-0 win over Sweden in their final warm-up match. That performance, along with England's defeat to Iceland in their final warm-up match, makes this match more than a banana skin for Gareth Southgate's men.
How the bookies view it: England heavily backed
Despite their patchy preparation for the tournament, England have been priced as the strong favourites for their opening clash against Serbia, which is hardly a surprise.
England are 4/9 to win with Betfred while Serbia have been priced at 7/1. If you think both teams will play out a stalemate, then the draw is priced at 7/2.
Recent head-to-head: A first-ever meeting
This will be the first time that England have faced Serbia since Serbia became independent in 2006. Prior to that, the Three Lions faced Serbia & Montenegro in a friendly match in 2003 – a match they won 2-1 thanks to goals from Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole.
Players to watch: Hey Jude
In a squad full of attacking talent and big names, Jude Bellingham has established himself as the poster boy of the England squad. After a stellar season for Real Madrid, which ended with him winning La Liga and the Champions League.
Bellingham has transformed into an attacking midfielder under Carlo Ancelotti which has presented Gareth Southgate with a headache. He has to pick between Bellingham and Foden to play in their preferred #10 position and it appears that the former Birmingham will get the nod. How he gets on under that pressure will be fascinating to watch.
For Serbia, England fans will be well aware of the threat posed by Aleksandar Mitrović. The 29-year-old striker has netted 28 goals in 28 Saudi League matches this season, so they will be full of confidence coming into Euro 2024. Another key player is Dusan Tadic, but he's advanced age have affected his form and performances, not just in club football, but also at international level.
Predicted lineups
Serbia have had no injury scares in the build-up to the match which makes life easy for Dragan Stojković. Interestingly, he tends to avoid starting both Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrović together, but there will be a temptation here, given how fragile England are at the back.
Southgate has a few more headaches than his opposite number. John Stones has been ill this week but is now back in training, so they should start, while Luke Shaw won't be risked yet despite also being in full training.
Serbia: V.Milinkovic-Savic – Zivkovic, Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic – Maksimovic, Lukic, Kostic, S. Milinkovic-Savic – Vlahovic, Mitrovic
England: Pickford – Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier – Mainoo, Rice – Saka, Bellingham, Foden – Kane
Anything else catch the eye?
Going into the tournament, there are legitimate concerns about England's defence. Not only are they missing two of their preferred back four with Harry Maguire and Shaw both out injured but Stones has also missed training in the build-up with a virus. Serbia, meanwhile, netted three goals against Sweden just last week. Sweden to score over 0.5 goals is 5/6.
This Euro 2024 match between Serbia and England will be played on Jun 16, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Serbia vs England prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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