Serbia and Switzerland resume their UEFA Nations League campaigns when they square off at the Dubocica Stadium in Leskovac on Friday night.
Both nations have made winless starts in League A Group 4 and are already playing catch-up in the race to secure top spot ahead of current leaders Denmark.
Match preview
© Imago
Over the last 16 months, Serbia have struggled to put together a consistent run of positive results, winning just four, drawing five and losing seven of their last 16 international matches across all competitions.
Dragan Stojkovic's side failed to win any of their three games at Euro 2024 four and finished rock bottom of their group, but they did claim a respectable point in a goalless draw with European champions Spain in their opening Nations League fixture last month.
The Eagles were unable to collect any points three days later, though, as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Denmark, leaving them sitting third in League A Group 4 and five points adrift of the Danes at the summit.
Ranked 35th in the world by FIFA, Serbia have failed to score in three consecutive matches for the first time since 2012 and head into Saturday's contest seeking to end a five-game winless streak.
However, there is reason for Serbia to be optimistic ahead of their clash with Switzerland, as they have not lost any of their last seven matches on home soil, winning five and drawing two.
© Imago
While Serbia have progressed from League C to League A within the last three Nations League tournaments, boasting a record of nine wins, seven draws and four defeats, Switzerland have won seven, drawn four and lost seven of their 18 games as a League A nation.
Murat Yakin's side put together an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions before they lost on penalties to England in the quarter-final at Euro 2024, and they have since lost their opening two Nations League matches against Denmark and Spain.
A 2-0 defeat in Denmark last month was followed three days later by a 4-1 home loss against holders Spain, who still managed to come out on top in Geneva despite playing for over an hour with 10 men.
Ranked 15th in the world by FIFA, Switzerland currently sit rock bottom of League A Group 4 without a single point and can ill-afford to drop too many more points in their next two fixtures against Serbia and Denmark this month if they wish to remain in the race for top spot.
The Swiss have only won one of their last five international away matches, but they have beaten Serbia in both of their previous two meetings, winning a World Cup qualifier 2-1 in June 2018 before securing a thrilling 3-2 victory in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup.
Team News
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Serbia will be without Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Andrija Zivkovic and Ivan Ilic due to injury, while Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic has not been called up due to "family problems".
Predrag Rajkovic is expected to start in goal, with Strahinja Erakovic, Nikola Milenkovic and Strahinja Pavlovic all lining up in central defence as Kosta Nedeljkovic and Veljko Birmancevic operate as wing-backs.
Seventeen-year-old Andrija Maksimovic of Red Star Belgrade is one of four uncapped midfielders in Stojkovic's squad, although he is unlikely to start ahead of either Sasa Lukic or Marko Grujic, while Serbia's all-time leading scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic (58) is expected to start up front.
As for Switzerland, Ruben Vargas (ankle) Denis Zakaria and Becir Omeragic (both knee) are ruled out through injury; the latter two withdrew from the squad on Monday and Omeragic has since been replaced by Eray Comert.
Granit Xhaka and Nico Elvedi were both suspended for the previous match after being sent off in Switzerland's opening Nations League fixture, but they are now available for selection and are expected to start in midfield and defence respectively.
Zeki Amdouni scored against Spain last time out and he could retain his place in attack alongside Breel Embolo and either Dan Ndoye or Kwadwo Duah.
Serbia possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Erakovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic; Nedeljkovic, Lukic, Grujic, Maksimovic, Birmancevic; Samardzic; Mitrovic
Switzerland possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka, Aebischer; Ndoye, Amdouni; Embolo
We say: Serbia 0-1 Switzerland
Both nations have lacked a cutting edge in the final third in recent international matches, particularly Serbia, and a low-scoring affair could be on the cards this weekend.
Switzerland have got the better of Serbia in their previous two meetings and we feel that they may just have the edge once again, claiming a narrow victory to climb off the foot of the group.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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