Serbia take on Brazil on Wednesday afternoon in a crunch encounter for both teams. Brazil top Group E as it stands with four points, but Serbia are currently third with three points, with Switzerland sandwiched in between with four, although with an inferior goal difference to Brazil.
Serbia need to win to progress through to the knockout stages, while Brazil will be eliminated with defeat on Wednesday.
Brazil left it late to beat Costa Rica in their last game, scoring twice in injury time in the second half to flatter the scoreline somewhat. The first came from Philippe Coutinho, who found the back of the net for the second time this tournament, while Neymar also scored from a tap-in. They were heavily backed prior to the beginning of the tournament, but they’ve failed to hit expectations so far and the memories of losing 7-1 to Germany four years ago still overshadow them.
As for Serbia, they’re a physical side who’ll look to ruffle the feathers of some of the Brazilian players, with many expecting some heavy challenges to be put in on Neymar and some of their other flair players. They beat Costa Rica in their opener, before losing to Switzerland in their second game. It’s win or bust for Mladen Krstajic’s side and it promises to be a lively encounter.
Serbia vs. Brazil Predictions
Brazil will just about get through this game, but don’t think it’ll be without a bit of drama. They’ll be hacked down all over the place and this match might even see a red card. There have been an astonishing number of penalties awarded in this tournament and that will probably continue here as well.
Serbia vs. Brazil Betting Tips
Head to Head
- Yugoslavia included, Serbia and Brazil have met four times at the W. Cup. Their head-to-head record is perfectly balanced with one win each and two draws.
- Serbia and Brazil’s first ever W. Cup appearance was in a match against each other in 1930, Yugoslavia winning 2-1.
- In total though (including as Yugoslavia), Serbia have faced Brazil on 19 occasions, winning just twice (D7 L10).
- This will be the second meeting between Serbia and Brazil with the former as an independent nation. Their first encounter was in a friendly in June 2014, Brazil winning 1-0.
- In all competitions, Brazil are unbeaten in 13 matches (W9 D4 L0), conceding just three goals in that run.
- Brazil have only managed one victory in their last seven W. Cup games against European opposition (D2 L4), a 3-1 win against Croatia in 2014.
- As an independent nation, Serbia have lost each of the six W. Cup matches in which they have conceded, winning the two in which they kept clean sheets.
- Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored 18 goals in 26 games for club and country in 2018.
- Philippe Coutinho has scored in each of his last three appearances for Brazil.
- Brazil’s Neymar has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 17 appearances for the national side (10 goals, 8 assists).
Serbia Squad
Vladimir Stojkovic (Partizan Belgrade), Pedrag Rajkovic (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Marko Dmitrovic (Eibar), Aleksandar Kolarov (AS Roma), Branislav Ivanovic (Zenit St. Petersburg), Dusko Tosic (Guangzhou), Antonio Rukavina (Villarreal), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Milan Rodic (Red Star Belgrade), Uros Spajic (Krasnodar), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Nemanja Matic (Manchester United), Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Marko Grujic (Liverpool), Adam Ljajic (Torino), Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Filip Kostic (Hamburg), Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica), Nemanja Radonjic (Red Star Belgrade), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Newcastle), Aleksandar Prijovic (PAOK Salonika), Luka Jovic (Benfica)
Brazil Squad
Alisson (Roma), Ederson (Manchester City), Cassio (Corinthians), Danilo (Manchester City), Fagner (Corinthians), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain), Marquinhos (Paris Saint Germain), Miranda (Internazionale), Pedro Geromel (Gremio), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Paulinho (Barcelona), Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona), Willian (Chelsea), Douglas Costa (Juventus), Neymar (Paris Saint Germain), Taison (Shakhtar Donetsk), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)