Serbia vs Spain Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 UEFA Nations League | League A Group 4
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The great underperformers of European football, Serbia, begin a new cycle with Dragan Stojkovic still at the helm as they welcome the European champions, Spain, for the opening match day of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: UK – 7:45pm / US ET – 2:45pm / US PT – 11:45am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – TBC / US – FOX Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – TBC / US – FOX Sports streaming platforms
SERBIA PREVIEW: EVOLVING THE SERBS
Dragan Stojkovic has come under intense scrutiny and criticism as Serbia boss and that stems back to even before UEFA EURO 2024, especially from former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic, who is aiming to become the president of the Serbian FA.
Their campaign was fairly dull. Had they been more adventurous, they would have taken more from what was a 1-0 loss to England in their opening game before they then shared a 1-1 draw with Slovenia and a goalless draw with Denmark which eliminated them in Munich.
SPAIN PREVIEW: ALL-CONQUERING ESPANA
Former Spain U21 coach Luis de la Fuente had a difficult start to his time as Spain boss but he quickly turned that around. Winning the previous edition of the UEFA Nations League last summer was an excellent staging post for La Roja as they built towards UEFA EURO 2024.
Throughout the summer they were widely viewed as the best performing team and, unusually, that was rewarded by leaving Germany with the trophy as they defeated England by two goals to one with a late Mikel Oyarzabal winner in the final in Berlin.
SERBIA TEAM NEWS: SERBIAN SHAKE-UP
Experienced attacker Dusan Tadic has announced his international retirement after being dropped at UEFA EURO 2024. Number one goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic is out suspended and there are a few injuries for Stojkovic to deal with, too. There is no Aleksandar Mitrovic or Dusan Vlahovic in the squad either.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-1-2): Petrovic; Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Erakovic; Nedeljkovic, Grujic, Lukic, Zivkovic; Samardzic; Ivanovic, Ratkov
UNAVAILABLE: Rajkovic (Suspended), Veljkovic (Injured), Terzic (Injured), Maksimovic (Injured), Jovic (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
SPAIN TEAM NEWS: A FEW CHANGES
Rodri has not yet regained full fitness and has not featured for Manchester City this season so, although in the squad, is unlikely to start with the likes of Unai Simon, Mikel Merino, Fermin Lopez and UEFA EURO 2024 captain Alvaro Morata all suffering early season injuries.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): David Raya; Dani Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella; Pedri, Martin Zubimendi, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Nico Williams
UNAVAILABLE: Unai Simon (Injured), Mikel Merino (Injured), Fermin Lopez (Injured), Alvaro Morata (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
SERBIA VS SPAIN PREDICTION
Dragan Stojkovic is under pressure. He goes into this game without a recognised left wing-back due to Aleksa Terzic and Filip Kostic’ absences. Dusan Tadic is no longer around and there is no Vlahovic or Mitrovic for this break either. Spain, even with their own notable absentees, have shown themselves to be genuinely excellent and the motivation to keep up their remarkable streak will be there so La Roja to win this one by a comfortable margin seems likely.
SERBIA VS SPAIN TIP: SPAIN TO WIN -1 HANDICAP
