Following midweek wins for both sides, Serbia host Portugal in Belgrade for a tasty World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
Serbia came from behind to secure a 3-2 victory over Ireland on Wednesday, while Portugal only managed to scrape past Azerbaijan 1-0.
🛬🇷🇸 A Seleção chegou à Sérvia! #VamosTodos #VamosComTudo🛬🇷🇸 #TeamPortugal has arrived in Serbia! pic.twitter.com/HjpzFLn7Sm— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) March 25, 2021
🛬🇷🇸 A Seleção chegou à Sérvia! #VamosTodos #VamosComTudo🛬🇷🇸 #TeamPortugal has arrived in Serbia! pic.twitter.com/HjpzFLn7Sm
After going behind early on against Ireland midweek, Dusan Vlahoviv pulled Serbia level just before halt-time. But after the break, it was all about Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The Fulham striker scored a sublime long-range chip to give his side the lead, before netting a header to bag his second and Serbia’s third.
Having finished the game with 56% possession and 14 shots, there is no denying that Serbia deserved to beat Ireland.
Serbia extended their unbeaten streak to five games on Wednesday, although they have drawn three of their last five outings.
Following back-to-back goalless draws with Dominican Republic and Panama in January, Serbia will be pleased to have returned to winning ways.
Meanwhile, Portugal enjoyed 67% possession against Azerbaijan in midweek, as well as recording 29 shots (14 on target).
However, the reigning European champions needed a Maksim Medvedev own goal to seal a slender 1-0 victory.
Despite fielding big-name stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva, Portugal struggled to break down the Group A underdogs.
Portugal have only lost one of their last 11 games in all competitions, picking up eight wins and two draws in the process.
But having sealed big wins over Sweden (3-0), Andorra (7-0) and Croatia (3-2) in recent months, Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Azerbaijan was a shock to the system.
Head-to-head: Serbia and Portugal have faced each other six times over the years, with both teams securing three wins.
The two sides met in the Euro qualifiers back in 2019. Portugal claimed a 1-1 draw on home soil, before thrashing Serbia 4-2 away from home.
Team news: After starting on the bench in midweek, Mitrovic will surely be included in Serbia’s starting XI on Saturday following his brace against Ireland.
On the other hand, Portugal are likely to make changes to their line-up following a below-par performance last time out.
Given that Portugal underperformed in midweek, Serbia will fancy their chances of building on Wednesday’s win and getting something from this match.
Forebet predicts that Serbia and Portugal will produce a high-scoring draw on Saturday, with both team’s expected to score over 1.5 goals.