Serbia will continue their preparations for this summer's European Championship with a friendly against Cyprus in Larnaca on Monday evening.
The visitors, who will begin their Euro 2024 challenge against England on June 16, will enter the contest off the back of a 4-0 defeat to Russia, while Cyprus played out a 1-1 draw with Latvia last time out.
Match preview
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Cyprus have never managed to qualify for the finals of a major tournament, and the national side again fell short during qualification for Euro 2024, with a difficult campaign seeing them lose all eight of their matches in Group A, scoring just three times and conceding 28.
Temur Ketsbaia's side have another three friendlies in the diary against Serbia, Moldova and San Marino before beginning their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign against either Lithuania or Gibraltar on September 6.
Cyprus' last competitive match was a 3-1 defeat to Spain last November, but they are unbeaten since then, recording a 1-0 win over Lithuania before drawing 1-1 with Latvia on Thursday night.
The national team will play in Group 2 of League C in the upcoming UEFA Nations League, with Kosovo and Romania already confirmed in the section.
Cyprus are unbeaten in their last four friendlies dating back to November 2022, beating Israel and Lithuania, in addition to drawing with Armenia and Latvia, since losing 2-0 to Bulgaria.
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Serbia, as mentioned, were well beaten by Russia on Thursday evening, conceding four unanswered goals, so they will be desperate to bounce back in their second match of 2024.
The Eagles featured at the 2022 World Cup, being eliminated in the group stage of the competition, and they have qualified for this summer's European Championship.
Dragan Stojkovic's side finished second in Group G behind Hungary, winning four, drawing two and losing two of their eight matches to collect 14 points, and they will play in Group C at Euro 2024, tackling Slovenia, Denmark and England in what is a competitive section.
Serbia will face Austria and Sweden in two friendlies before their opener with England on June 16, and they will be determined to put some strong results on the board, particularly considering the 4-0 loss to Russia.
The Eagles have faced Cyprus on four previous occasions, all of which have been friendlies, and they have a record of three wins and one draw against Monday's opponents, including a 2-1 success when the pair last locked horns in May 2016.
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Team News
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Cyprus head coach Ketsbaia is expected to again make use of his squad in this match, with a number of players set to be given opportunities to impress.
Grigoris Kastanos plays his club football for Salernitana in Italy's top flight, and the midfielder is in line to win his 52nd cap for his country on Monday evening.
No player in the squad has managed more than four international goals, which is an indication of their issues in the final third of the field; Ioannis Pittas is one of those, and the 27-year-old is set to again be given the nod in an attacking area against Serbia.
The visitors were well short of their best against Russia, although an early red card for Milan Gajic made it an uphill task for Stojkovic's side.
There will be changes from the team that took to the field for the first whistle on Thursday, with two key players in the shape of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic set to come into the XI.
Dusan Tadic has 22 goals in 105 caps for his country, and the 35-year-old should retain his spot in central midfield, while Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic should continue between the sticks.
Cyprus possible starting lineup:
Mall; Karo, Ioannou, Correia, Laifis; Gogic, Kousoulos, Kastanos; Pittas, Loizou, Kakoullis
Serbia possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Masovic, Erakovic, Pavlovic, Mladenovic; Tadic, S Milinkovic-Savic, Lukic; Zivkovic, Mitrovic, Gacinovic
We say: Cyprus 0-2 Serbia
Serbia should be fired up due to their poor performance against Russia, and we are expecting the talented visitors to have too much for Cyprus on Monday evening, although it should be relatively close in terms of the scoreline.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
