World Cup 2018: Serbia vs Switzerland prediction, odds, line-ups and preview as Mladen Krstajic looks to lead his side into knockout stages
Serbia can seal qualification to the knockout stages with a win while the Swiss will be full of confidence after a vital point against Brazil
SWITZERLAND came away from their opener against Brazil with a “bonus” point but it will count for little if they crash against the Serbian rocks in the World Cup’s Baltic outpost.
The Swiss recovered well to ride their luck and expect to have rather more of the ball than in that first game.
Serbia’s win over lightweight Costa Rica was hardly convincing but making it two out of two will guarantee them a place in the last 16.
The nation expects: Plenty of judges feel the Serbs can be dark horses although they were in danger of spreading a plate in their first game and cannot stumble at this hurdle.
Switzerland have gained confidence from their Brazil draw and demonstrated how organised, resilient and resourceful they are. A draw might well be enough for them.
Key battles/Star men: Xherdan Shaqiri’s club future may not be entirely clear but there is no questioning his quality and Aleksandar Kolarov will have to be on his game to keep the little man quiet.
Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic left his shooting boots in the dressing room on Sunday but he will look to demonstrate Switzerland’s occasionally shaky back division.
Weakest links: The biggest problems for the Serbs appear to be between their ears, with many doubting whether they have the mentality to find their way out of tough situations or might fold under the pressure.
Switzerland struggle to break down decent teams and it was no surprise their goal against Brazil came from a set-piece. The Serbs will be rugged enough to withstand that.
Likely line-ups and Team Talk: No obvious reasons for either team to change their line-ups after the opening games although Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic will be preaching the need for calmer heads in front of goal.
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Probable team: Vladimir Stojkovic; Branislav Ivanovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Dusko Tosic, Aleksandar Kolarov; Nemanja Matic, Luka Milivojevic; Dusan Tadic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Adem Ljajic; Aleksandar Mitrovic
Wily Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic has been urged to move Shaqiri inside to the No 10 slot by predecessor Ottmar Hitzfeld but seems more likely to keep things as they were with the Stoke man starting on the right
Probable team: Yann Sommer; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez; Valon Behrami, Granit Xhaka; Xherdan Shaqiri, Blerim Dzemaili, Steven Zuber; Haris Seferovic
Best bet: Hardly likely to be a goal-fest and seems likely to end with honours even and the Swiss still alive in what still looks like a shoot-out for second behind Brazil. Go for a 1-1 draw.
Prem Tsar in the making: Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been linked with a potential £75m move to Manchester United and demonstrated his potential with the run that led to Kolarov’s free-kick winner on Sunday.
Fact Me
- Serbia won their opening match against Costa Rica – they have qualified for the next round on three of the four occasions they’ve won their first match at the World Cup, doing so as Yugoslavia in 1930, 1954 and 1998; their only failure to qualify was in 1950.
- Stephan Lichtsteiner could become the player with the most World Cup appearances for Switzerland if he plays in this match – he drew level with Charles Antenen on eight matches in the opening game against Brazil.
- This will be the first meeting between Serbia (as an independent nation) and Switzerland. They faced the Swiss 13 times as Yugoslavia, winning six (D5 L2).
- Just one of the 13 meetings between Yugoslavia and Switzerland was at the World Cup, with Yugoslavia winning 3-0 in a group stage game in 1950.
- The Swiss have lost just one of their last four World Cup games against fellow European nations, though it was in their last such meeting (2-5 vs France in 2014).
- Switzerland have lost just one of their last 23 matches (W16 D6), a 2-0 defeat to Portugal in a World Cup qualifier in October 2017.
- Branislav Ivanovic broke Dejan Stankovic’s record for appearances for Serbia in their opening match against Costa Rica – he now has 104 caps.Sergej Milenkovic-Savic is a midfield meistro for Serbia who is looking to attract attention at the World Cup
- Steven Zuber has been involved in six goals in his last six international starts for Switzerland (4 goals, 2 assists) and scored their equaliser against Brazil.
- Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored 14 goals in his last 17 starts for Serbia – however, he had four of Serbia’s 10 shots against Costa Rica and failed to find the net.
- Against Brazil, Valon Behrami became the first Switzerland player to appear in four different World Cup finals – he has played at the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 finals.