PICK OF THE DAY
Serbia - Swiss
Tip : GG (both to score)
Odd : 2.10
FT : 1:2 WIN!!!
Making it to the 2018 World Cup was something of a revival for Serbia. Off the field issues plagued their Euro 2016 qualification campaign, and after having points deducted they ended up second from bottom in a relatively easy group, picking up just four points from their eight games there.
Fortunately for them they managed to make amends in World Cup qualifying, topping their group ahead of Republic of Ireland and taking a total of 21 points from their ten matches. Being drawn in a group including Brazil, Switzerland, and Costa Rica you certainly wouldn’t rule them out of making it to the knockout stages.
Serbia got off to a good start on Sunday with a well deserved 1-0 win over Costa Rica. Their star youngster, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, absolutely terrorised the Costa Rica defence with his physicality and skill, but it was Roma left back Aleksandr Kolarov who settled the tie in the second half. This puts them in a very promising position for qualification, although it’s this match that could prove the most crucial to their chances.
Switzerland opened their campaign with an even better result. They faced off with pre-tournament favourites Brazil, but thanks to some excellent tactics and execution they took a deserved 1-1 draw away from the South American giants. Defensively they were excellent against that star studded side, although the fact that they fouled Neymar alone ten times is an indication as to how they played.
This extends Switzerland’s unbeaten run to seven matches, with four of those games ending in victory. Their record is actually much more impressive than that though. Their 2-0 loss at Portugal back in October 2017 is the only time they’ve lost in 90 minutes since before Euro 2016, a run stretching back 23 matches.
Serbia won’t be an easy team to beat though. They are a side filled with talent, and despite their talents being defensive they have managed to score in 12 of their last 13 games. However, they have conceded in seven of those games.
Meanwhile,Switzerland have scored in 16 of their last 18 matches since the end of Euro 2016. This makes a Both Teams to Score bet look very promising, so we’re backing that. These are two very evenly matched sides though, and on the balance of things we think a Draw is the most likely outcome, along with a 1-1 correct score predictions.
VAR is playing a huge part in this World Cup. Ten penalties have been awarded already in this World Cup, and with the World Cup record being 18 penalties in a single tournament, this looks likely to be broken. This makes penalty takers the prime choice for our anytime goalscorer predictions, and with Switzerland’s Ricardo Rodriguez on both penalty and free kick duty he looks a great choice. The left back has scored in three of Switzerland’s last seven games too, so we’re backing him to find the net.
Serbia Predicted Lineup: Stojkovic, Ivanovic, Milenkovic, Tosic, Kolarov, Milivojevic, Matic, Ljajic, Milinkovic-Savic, Tadic, Mitrovic
Switzerland Predicted Lineup: Sommer, Lichsteiner, Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez, Behrami, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Dzemaili, Zuber, Seferovic
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