This Sunday will be a monumental day for Serbia, with it being the opening game for their first-ever European Championship as an independent nation, their last appearance in a major UEFA competition coming 24 years ago when they qualified for Euro 2004 as Serbia and Montenegro. And what better opponent to ease them in than England, who are many people’s favourites to finally take home the trophy as the Three Lions search for some long-awaited silverware? Ahead of the two sides’ first Group B match, here is our predicted lineup for Serbia.
Serbia Predicted Lineup for Opening Game vs England
How Serbia Have Lined Up
Serbia’s lack of out-and-out fullbacks means that Dragan Stojkovic has been limited to playing three at the back for most of his time as manager. The most recent time he adopted a four-at-the-back system came in a friendly against Russia back in March and it is safe to say Stojkovic won’t be going there again as Serbia looked all over the place, suffering a 4-0 defeat, with right-back Milan Gajic getting sent off in the first half. When playing a back three, they look more settled but there is still room for improvement. With regards to definite starters, Strahinja Pavlovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Sergej Milnkovic-Savic, Filip Kostic, Dusan Tadic and Aleksandar Mitrovic are the players that should be on the pitch against England come Sunday, the other spaces still up for grabs.
Recent Form And Tactics
In terms of the goalkeeper, fans are none the wiser as to who Stojkovic will make his No.1 for this summer’s tournament, with him giving Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and Predrag Rajkovic the two pre-Euro friendlies each between the sticks respectively against Austria (Serbia losing that match 2-1) and Sweden (Serbia winning 3-0). Rajkovic did himself no harm staking his claim against the Swedes, producing a fine performance whilst making some great saves. But with Milinkovic-Savic the mainstay throughout Serbia’s qualification journey, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Torino man as his nation’s starter.
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In defence, it’ll most certainly be a three at the back for Serbia. Pavlovic and Milenkovic are all but certain to start as two of the three centrebacks, but the third name is still an uncertainty. Uros Spajic did not have a good game against Austria and was hooked at halftime in Vienna. Against Sweden, Nemanja Stojic performed admirably so he’ll be hoping he caught Stojkovic’s eye during his audition.
The midfield and attack are where Serbia will feel they have the most threat, with this part of their team arguably the most talented. At left and right midfield, Kostic and Andrija Zivkovic should be the starters on Sunday – with the pair demonstrating their impact and effectiveness for two of Serbia’s goals against Sweden over the weekend. In the central areas, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic must start alongside Nemanja Gudelj and captain Tadic – with Gudelj and Milinkovic-Savic staying slightly further back to let Tadic affect attacks where possible.
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Upfront is where the majority of Serbia’s hopes no doubt rest, with them demonstrating throughout qualification that scoring goals is key to their success and with the names they have in that department, you can understand why. All-time top scorer and fan favourite Mitrovic – who is coming off the back of a 40-goal in all-competitions season with Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia – has to start no matter the opponent – while it is expected that Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic will join him, giving Serbia extra options in terms of how to go forward and cause a threat. However, do not be surprised to see Stojkovic give the Three Lions and Gareth Southgate something to think about by handing Vlahovic the responsibility of being the sole man up top, given his pace over Mitrovic and his ability to run the channels.
Injuries
In previous international tournaments, there seems to be a voodoo over the Serbian team – something always seems to go wrong, be it in-camp scandals, poor performances due to high expectations or something else completely unexpected. An injury to a key player wouldn’t surprise anyone – but as of June 12th, four days before Serbia’s opener, there are no injuries to report as the Euros hype reaches fever pitch for the nation.
Serbia Predicted Lineup
GK – Vanja-Milinkovic-Savic
RCB – Nemanja Stojic
CB – Nikola Milenkovic
LCB – Strahinja Pavlovic
RM – Andrija Zivkovic
LCM – Dusan Tadic
CM – Nemanja Gudelj
RCM – Sergej Milikovic-Savic
LM – Filip Kostic
ST – Aleksandar Mitrovic
ST – Dusan Vlahovic
