Serbia vs Portugal
European champions Portugal head to the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade on Saturday night for Match Day Two of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers. There they will come up against a Serbia side which aims to challenge the Selecao for group supremacy.
Both teams made a winning start to their qualifying campaign and that makes this game a battle between the early leaders of Group A. Fernando Santos’ Portugal are expected to dominate the group while Serbia are backed to finish second.
The last time Portugal visited Belgrade in the 2020 Euro qualifiers, they emerged victorious. But if the hosts can upset the odds on Saturday, then this group will be blown wide open.
Talking Points
Mitrovic the man for Serbia
Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic has been short of goals for his club this season as the Cottagers struggle against relegation back to the Championship.
He’s only scored two in 23 appearances, but the striker climbed off the bench to devastating effect in Serbia’s opening fixture when he scored a brace in a 3-2 victory over the Republic of Ireland.
The worrying aspect of the game for head coach Dragan Stojkovic was that his side conceded twice to a team that hadn’t scored for 678 minutes of competitive football until Alan Browne headed the Greens ahead.
Dusan Vlahovic levelled before the break and then Stojkovic played his hand perfectly, bringing on Mitrovic who put Serbia ahead with a delightful 35-yard chip before adding his second with a thumping header.
Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic put in a fine performance making all three assists and he’s sure to test the Portugal defence on Saturday.
And Serbia have some other big names in contention to make a start.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is a crucial player for Lazio as the Rome club battles for a European place in a very competitive Serie A. Valued at £100-M, the commanding midfielder will attract plenty of suitors if Lazio fall short.
He stayed on the bench throughout the win over the Republic of Ireland and will be itching for a start against the European champions.
Eintracht Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic did get a run-out. But if anyone has forced himself into the starting lineup, it’s Mitrovic.
At the back, highly-rated Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic will marshal the Serbs’ defence and the 23-year-old will have his work cut out to stop Cristiano Ronaldo and co.
Portugal looking for a bite
The World Cup 2022 betting odds are squarely behind a Selecao win. But if the way they struggled against humble Azerbaijan is anything to go by, it may not be all plain sailing.
Santos’ boys sneaked a win thanks to an unlucky own goal by Maksim Medvedev, who watched a clearance from his goalkeeper smack into him and bounce back into the net.
It was a fortunate event for the Portuguese who had been frustrated all night, particularly Ronaldo who came closest when he tried an overhead kick which flew over the bar.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix both came close but were denied by the Azerbaijan keeper who kept all but his defender’s deflection at bay.
Ronaldo’s going to be in the World Cup 2022 news one way or the other, as he aims to become the top international goal scorer of all time. He’s seven goals behind the record haul of 109 registered by Iran legend Ali Daei.
Portugal has a wealth of attacking riches alongside Ronaldo.
The return to fitness of Diogo Jota is a boost for Portugal. The Liverpool striker scored against his old club Wolves last week in a 1-0 win for the Reds, while Wolverhampton’s Pedro Neto is an orthodox winger with an eye for goal.
The Manchester City trio of attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva and defensive stars Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias add a real touch of class to the Selecao.
This is a team dripping with talent.
History
These two teams have been in close contact recently when they met in the Euro 2020 qualifiers as Ronaldo and Silva were on target in a 4-2 victory in Serbia.
In the return in Portugal, Dusan Tadic scored in a 1-1 draw, which also saw Danilo score for the Selecao and Ronaldo substituted after suffering a hamstring injury.
Betting Tip
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Serbia vs Portugal | Over 2.50 @ 1.96 |
| March 28, 03:45 (GMT+8) |
Portugal are the clear favourites here at SBOTOP to take all three points at odds of 1.69, while hosts Serbia are available at 4.00 and the draw is at 3.60.
Serbia showed they have a taste for goals in their opener and I don’t expect Portugal’s attacking players to draw another blank.
We may not see another six-goal thriller but let’s hope we get close.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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