Serbia vs Luxembourg
EURO Qualification
Date: Thursday, 14 November 2019
Kick-off at 19:45 UK / 20:45 CET
Venue: Stadion Rajko Mitić (Belgrade).
A madcap 4-2 defeat at home to Portugal in September has left Serbia hopes of qualifying for Euro 2020 with the Group B looked precarious, but they've kept themselves in contention by bouncing back to win their last two qualifiers - 3-1 away to Luxembourg and last month 2-1 to Lithuania - set up the last two games at home.
They also beat Paraguay 1-0 in a friendly match between the two games, the game featuring the increasingly rare, much-needed clean sheet of male Ljubia this Tumbakovic. Of the six qualifiers they have played so far, they have not managed to keep a clean sheet, conceding to the minnows Lithuania twice and Luxembourg once (although they won all three of the meetings), while they also conceded five to Ukraine (a 5- 0 defeats) and four to Portugal (4-2 defeat).
Reims goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic expect to get the nod between the sticks and captain Aleksandar Kolarov to add experience to the back line, alongside Napoli Nikola Maksimović talent. Ajax Dušan Tadić will add some creativity from midfield, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has looked back to his best for Lazio this season. Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic is absent from this one, but the Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic - who has 31 goals from 53 international caps - will look to add a sizeable tally to lead the line.
Luxembourg Team News
Luxembourg, which has been an active member of UEFA and FIFA almost since they were first established, never even got close to qualifying for the summer tournament. Only once in more than 30 Euro and World Cup qualifying campaign that had they managed to win more than one qualified, something that they are looking to replicate here with one victory (over Lithuania) and one draw (also against Lithuania) and four defeats from group B so far.
Ultimately Luxembourg and Lithuania tends to leave six points with three sides compete to qualify - Ukraine and Portugal together with Serbia, so the failure to get the job done by the opposition would be a major upset, considering they were above some level.
They will take some heart from just lost 1-0 away to group leaders Ukraine back in June though, and they will be looking to replicate that kind of steady, frustrated defensive display here, with Laurent Jans Paderborn - captain - marshalling the backline here , Virton Aurélien Joachim striker was the top scorer in the country with 15 international goals and is expected to lead the line, but he's 33 now.
Serbia vs Luxembourg prediction
Serbia is in the winning groove at this time. They have recorded back to back victories in their last two games. The latest bout of their most saw them register a narrow 2-1 win over rock bottom Lithuanian side. Before the clashes, the hosts got the better of Luxembourg with a 3-1 scorecard.
The hosts also have at losing twice so far in the cluster. Both of those defeats though, for their defense, coming up against Ukraine and Portugal, which currently leads the race for the top two spots.
Meanwhile, their counterparts for this week are on the dingy three-game losing streak. Contingent visit also has come out on top just once this campaign, it is also against the Lithuanian side struggling.
To make matters worse, Luxembourg has conceded defeat without a goal to their name in their previous two outings in running. On the other hand, Serbia has in the end lost just once in their last five games at home.
With Luxembourg hardly showing signs of promise, he is a favorite of Ljubisa Tumbakovic directly to three points in this one and are likely to do so without having to break sweat. Taking into account that the host is placed three past this enemy in the reverse fixture, relying on Serbia to win, even with -1.5 handicap on them.
In addition, the visitors had been caught napping at the back too many times. And have conceded eleven goals so far, five of which are on the road. It is also worth noting that the host has been consistent in scoring two or more goals in each of their last five matchups in all competitions here.
Thus, it is expected a high scoring affair this week with over 2.5 goals in the charts.
Serbia vs Luxembourg Betting tips
Serbia -1.5 Asian Handicap @ 1.50 (1/2)
Over 2.5 goals @ 1.60 (3/5).
