Serbia v England Match Result
England will be installed as favourites to land a victory in Belgrade. They will head to the Red Star Stadium bidding to continue their 100% qualifying record. It started with a 2-0 victory over Albania before a 3-0 success against Latvia. Then came a far from convincing 1-0 triumph away to Andorra where Harry Kane’s early second half goal spared the team’s blushes.
However, that 3-1 defeat against Senegal at the City Ground raised a few eyebrows. It came down to the fact that it took place directly after the domestic season ended. Even so, Thomas Tuchel still needs to win over England supporters and this is a tricky assignment against a Serbia team who will have a hostile home crowd gunning for them.
Serbia have generally been hard to beat over the past couple of years. Their only recent defeat was a 3-0 reverse against Spain in the Nations League. However, they were able to hold the same opponents to a goalless draw a month earlier. Dragan Stojković’s side also beat Switzerland before holding Denmark to a goalless draw.
The fact that they secured draws at home to Spain and Denmark suggests that they are capable of landing at least a point against England. In essence, this wouldn’t be a bad result for the visitors and a tight encounter could lead to the game being honours even. You might even benefit from going for a No Goalscorer option which is tantamount to getting 0-0 but the insurance of having own goals on your side.
Serbia went to Latvia having not lost any of their previous six matches. It’s therefore the case that opposing England could be a profitable way forward. There could be merit in going for Serbia and the Draw on the Double Result market.
Goals Under/Over
We are leaning towards Under 2.5 Goals when it comes to this World Cup qualifier. We know that both teams have a strong defensive base which could lead to a tight game. Previously to a straightforward 3-0 victory over Andorra, there were five straight matches where two goals or less were scored.
We can also point to the eight Nations League encounters played by Serbia. All of these games involved less than three goals with the exception of a 3-0 defeat away to Spain. Therefore, we know that the team are organised defensively and they won’t be taking too many risks against an England side who are also good at the back.
Before that 3-1 defeat against Senegal, England had kept five consecutive clean sheets and they will be out to run a tight ship and ensure that there’s at least a point on the board. Therefore, we can back Under 2.5 Goals with a degree of confidence.
BTTS
England tend to find the net on a regular basis. The previous ten games have seen the Three Lions find the net at least once. They have averaged 2.3 goals in all of these matches. Therefore, there’s a strong chance that we see Thomas Tuchel’s side find the net at least once. However, they are up against a brick wall of a defence who have been able to snuff out Switzerland, Serbia and Denmark in recent times.
We do think the BTTS No option could be the way forward. Jordan Pickford remains a safe pair of hands and has kept countless clean sheets for his country. Marc Guehi didn’t get a move to Liverpool on transfer deadline day although he could form part of a tight central defence and Crystal Palace have been stubborn already this term.
The BTTS No option covers the goalless draw and a 1-0 victory to either team. There’s also the prospect of England winning by a 2-0 scoreline. If you think that Serbia can breach the England defence, then you could consider the BTTS Yes option but it will be an outside pick for a reason.
First Goalscorer
Harry Kane continues to be the marksman for England, with the Bayern Munich man having scored 73 goals in the space of 107 games for his country. The 32-year-old was the match winner in Andorra and will be on spot kick duties for the Three Lions. The goal ratio for his country means that many punters will have him in a Bet Builder to find the net at anytime.
Marcus Rashford is aiming to rebuild his career at Barcelona and the forward could get the nod to feature now that Bukayo Saka is out injured. Eberechi Eze has completed a big money move to Arsenal and might also be worth considering, while Ollie Watkins has earned a call-up despite his slow start to the campaign for Aston Villa.
Aleksandar Mitrovic is a real goal-getter for his country and the former Fulham forward has scored 62 goals in the space of 100 games in a Serbia shirt. The Al-Hilal man is still capable of finding the net on a regular basis on an international level. Indeed, the Serbians have a dangerous front line that includes Dusan Vlahovic and Luka Jovic.