Serbia host Hungary on Sunday in League B Group 3 in a must-win game taking place in Belgrade. Both Serbia and Hungary are looking up at Group 3 leaders Russia heading into matchday 3.
Sunday’s hosts sit at the bottom of the table with just one point from six possible. That one point came from a nil-nil draw versus Turkey on matchday 2.
Hungary are second in Group 3 after two matchdays. They claimed a 1-0 win versus Turkey away thanks to a Dominik Szobszlai 80th-minute penalty. The Hungarians lost their follow up game, however, against Russia, 3-2.
The Hungarians are a strong squad which they proved on the first two matchdays. Their game versus Russia was a tale of two halves, however. Russia raced out to a 3-0 lead after 46 minutes. Hungary’s goals came in the second half.
Serbia are coming off of a high-intense game on Thursday night. The team played in the Euro 2020 qualifying playoffs against Norway and had to go to extra-time to claim a 2-1 win. Serge Milinkovic-Savic's 102nd-minute goal gave the Serbians passage to the final playoff round.
The national team will now face off with Scotland in the next playoff round of Euro 2020 qualifying in November.
Hungary were also in action in the Euro 2020 qualifiers in midweek. They claimed a 3-1 win versus Bulgaria. The game was not as close as the scoreline suggests as Hungary were up 3-0 before Bulgaria scored in the 89th minute.
The Hungarians will now face off with Iceland in November in the Euro 2020 qualifiers. Hungary made the Euro 2016 tournament and had a great impact on it four years ago.
Manager Marco Rossi’s Hungary are the 52nd ranked team in the world according to FIFA. Their form at the end of 2019 and the begin 2020 hasn’t been very good. Just three of their last seven games ended in victories. Their wins came against Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Bulgaria.
Four of their last seven games finished with under 2.5 goals scored. However, two straight games finished with over 2.5 goals tallied.
Serbia have been in far better form. They are unbeaten in in six straight games posting a 3W-2D-1L record. Their only defeat came at the hands of Russia in the Nations League on matchday 1, 3-1.
Five of Serbia’s last six games ended with over 2.5 goals scored. Both teams have seen goals scored in recent games and that trends should continue on this weekend.
Expect both teams to score and over 2.5 goals on Sunday in Belgrade. Serbia and Hungary should share the points and continue their fight for promotion from League B.