Serbia host Switzerland in Group A4 of the UEFA Nations League with both teams still seeking their first win in the competition. Neither side has shown much quality in recent times and they could be set for a closely fought encounter.
It has been a difficult start to the UEFA Nations League for Serbia, who are winless after two matches. They began with a 0-0 draw with Spain before suffering a 2-0 defeat to Denmark last time out.
While manager Dragan Stojkovic will take the positives from holding out against reigning European champions Spain, Serbia’s recent form has not been up to scratch. They are winless in their last five matches, failing to score four times while playing out three draws in that run.
Switzerland head into Saturday’s clash also seeking their first win in the competition. However, unlike Serbia, they have lost their two matches, falling 4-1 at home to Spain last time out.
It has been a generally poor run of form for Switzerland in recent times as they have picked up just one win from their last six matches across all competitions. Manager Murat Yakin will be particularly concerned with his team’s defending having conceded six times in the last two fixtures.
How the bookies view it: Closely fought encounter
The bookies appear to be anticipating a closely fought encounter with a win for Serbia priced at 8/5 with Betfred, who is also offering 9/5 for a Switzerland victory. A draw is set at odds of 11/5 by Betfred.
Head to head: Switzerland on top
Switzerland have won the two previous matches against Serbia. The Most recent meeting was a 2022 World Cup clash which ended 3-2 in favour of the Swiss.
Players to watch: Keep an eye on Mitrovic
Serbia will be keen to capitalise on Switzerland’s defensive vulnerability and will look to Aleksandar Mitrovic to provide the spark. The striker has scored in the last two matches against the Swiss and is priced at 13/8 by Betfred to get on the score sheet.
Breel Embolo often turns up for the national team and could be worth keeping an eye on for Switzerland. The forward was on target in the last meeting with Serbia and is priced at 5/2 by Betfred to find the net on Friday.
Probable line-ups
Serbia have left out a number of big names from their squad with Dusan Vlahovic, Filip Kostic and Sergei Milinkovic-Savic among those not called up. Mitrovic makes a return after missing the previous fixtures and should lead the line once again.
Switzerland are also without a few key players with Fabian Schar, Granit Xhaka and Noah Okafor not included in the squad. Embolo should start in attack alongside Zeki Amdouni and Ruben Vargas while Manuel Akanji is set to continue at the back.
Serbia: Rajkovic Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Erakovic, Nedelkovic, Lukic, Maksimovic, Brmancevic, Samardzic, Jovic, Mitrovic
Switzerland: Kobel, Rodriguez, Akanji, Wuthrich, Omeragic Freuler, Zakaria, Aebischer, Amdouni, Vargas, Embolo
Anything else catch the eye?
With both teams desperate for a win and given the scoreline in their last meeting, goals could be expected here. Both exams could be backed to score at 4/5 with Betfred, who is also offering 11/10 for over 2.5 goals, while over 3.5 goals is valued at 11/4.
Both teams battled to a halftime draw in their last meeting and a similar pattern is priced at 21/20 by Betfred.
This UEFA Nations League match between Serbia and Switzerland will be played on Oct 12, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Serbia vs Switzerland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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