Serbia and Switzerland will battle for one of the remaining spots in the Round of 16 this Friday when they face off at Stadium 974.
Venue: Stadium 974 (Doha)
Key Statistics
Serbia have conceded at least twice in each of their last four World Cup games while failing to secure victory in any (D1, L3).
The Eagles have lost just one of their last 16 competitive meetings with European opposition (W11, D4).
Switzerland have not been beaten in consecutive World Cup games since 1994.
They have lost twice in their last six games (W4).
Switzerland’s Murat Yakin is looking to become the first manager to guide the Swiss into the knockout stages of the World Cup in three consecutive finals appearances.
World Cup trivia: The 1954 World Cup hosted in Switzerland was the first to be transmitted live on television.
Head to head
Switzerland beat Serbia in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the only meeting between both European sides.
Latest performances in all competitions
Serbia: D-L-W-W-W
Switzerland: L-W-L-W-W
Serbia
Serbia will continue their search for a first win in this World Cup when they take on Switzerland at the Abu Aboud Stadium.
Dragan Stojkovic’s men come into this game winless in their two games so far in the World Cup and sit bottom of Group G, with one point having played out a draw with Cameroon in their last outing.
Jean Charles Castelletto opened the scoring in the 29th minute for the African side against Serbia. But two quick-fire goals courtesy of Strahinja Pavlovic and Milinkovic-Savic at the cusp of halftime, gave the Serbians a slight edge heading into the second half.
Serbia similarly resumed the second half and thought they had put the tie well beyond Cameroon when Aleksandar struck in the 53rd minute.
But a quick double in the space of three minutes courtesy of Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Choupo-Moting was enough to seal the six-goal thriller and ensured both teams continued their search for a win.
Serbia now come into this game in desperate need of a win knowing fully well that three points could potentially see them leap-frog Switzerland into second place, with Cameroon having the tougher job of facing group favourites Brazil in the other Group G game.
Dragan Stojkovic will be anxious to see his boys finally lay their hand on a win and nothing else, to give them any chances of qualification. With Switzerland also chasing a win that will seal their place in the knock-out stages, Serbia will have to play as they’ve never done so far in this tournament, and pray for better luck this time.
Possible Serbia starting line-up
Vanja Milinković-Savić, Nikola Milenkovic, Stefan Mitrovic, Milos Veljkovic, Andrija Zivkovic, Sasa Lukic, Nemanja Maksimovic, Filip Kostic, Dusan Tadic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Switzerland
Switzerland are one point away from qualification, as they sit in second place behind Brazil with three points.
However, with both Serbia and Cameroon having a good chance of qualification with a win, Manus Yankin will be anxious for a win to seal their progress into the knock-out rounds of the World Cup.
Switzerland came close to stealing a point off group favourites Brazil last time out, having held off the South American for close to 90 minutes at the Ras Abu Aboud stadium, thanks to some dogged defending and some brilliant stops from Yan Sommer.
However, in the 83rd minute, Casemiro stunned the European side with a thunderbolt volley from outside the 18-yard box, to ensure that the Swiss side do not go into the knock-out rounds without some drama.
Switzerland will now look to get the job done this time when they take on Serbia, and will be keen to take all three points from Dragan Stojkovic’s side, as a draw could potentially see them miss out of the knock-out stage if Cameroon somehow manages to beat Brazil.
Possible Switzerland starting line-up
Yann Sommer, Silvan Widmer, Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi, Ricardo Rodriguez, Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas, Breel Embolo.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Odds
Serbia to win | Draw | Switzerland to win | |
Odds | 2.62 | 3.25 | 2.80 |
Probability (%) | 36 | 29 | 34 |
Prediction
Serbia 2-2 Switzerland
Live Stream
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