Spain won the right to sit at the top of Group 4 of League A but this group remains tight. Failure against Serbia could put them in a difficult position.
The European champions had every opportunity to crush Denmark on Saturday but had to wait until the 79th minute for the winning goal. Now come Serbia, the team that managed to steal a point in the reverse fixture.
The 0-0 draw in Belgrade was not pretty, but Spain showed complete prowess on the pitch. Serbia managed a single shot on target and 32% possession as the home side, which should already hint at the type of match we will see on Tuesday when they travel to Cordoba.
This will be Luis de la Fuente’s 25th match as Spain’s boss and La Roja lost only twice since he replaced Luis Enrique.
How the bookies view it: Low chance for a surprise
Spain are the obvious favourite and you will not find meaningful odds anywhere. Betano gave them 9/25 to win on Tuesday while Serbia’s chances have been estimated at 31/4. The draw currently sits at 4/1.
Recent head-to-head: Spain stand undefeated
Spain and Serbia had only met once in a friendly match before 2024 and La Roja won 2-0 in 2012. As previously mentioned, the teams met in the opening round of the Nations League in September and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
Players to watch: Morata masterclass?
Luis de la Fuente has been forced to rotate his squad due to recent season-ending injuries (Carvajal, Rodri) and other short-term issues (Williams, Olmo). Lamine Yamal played 90+ minutes against Denmark and there were rumours that he picked up a light injury. A few hours ago it was confirmed that he is not injured but will be out of the squad for the second match.
In this case, we believe that Alvaro Morata will have an opportunity to shine against Serbia. His last goal for Spain came against Croatia in the opening round of the European championship but with so many key absentees, he should get more chances to score again.
Probable line-ups
Spain: Raya, Porro, Vivian, Laporte, Cucurella, Zubimendi, Ruiz, Baena, Pedri, Oyarzabal, Morata
Serbia: Rajkovic, Erakovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic, Nedeljkovic, Maksimovic, Grujic, Biramcevic, Samardzic, Mitrovic, Lukic
Anything else catch the eye?
Based on the two teams' performances in recent months, this fixture is unlikely to produce many goals. Spain will control the ball and put Serbia under 90 minutes of pressure. The Eagles will probably only have opportunities to score on the counter and will be forced to defend from start to end.
Given that Denmark, a squad with more quality than Serbia’s, only managed three goal attempts and a 0.10 xG on Saturday, we expect La Roja to keep their sheet clean. And with de la Fuente’s rotations, Spain will not bring the same aggression forward, so we expect either another 1-0 or a 2-0 at best if the squads we predicted turn out correct.
The safest choice is to wait until an hour before the fixture when the official line-ups get released. If Spain come out with the best they have available, then betting on the clean sheet will be the best option. Alternatively, if the boss opts for heavy rotations, then a tighter 2-1 will be on the table.
This UEFA Nations League match between Spain and Serbia will be played on Oct 15, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Spain vs Serbia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
