MX23RW : Thursday, November 21 14:52:53| >> :600:100725:100725:
[monks data]
Slovenia national football team
Nations League | League B
Jun 12, 2022 at 7.45pm UK
Arena Petrol
Serbia national football team

Slovenia
2 - 2
Serbia

Gnezda Cerin (48'), Sesko (53')
Sikosek (31'), Gnezda Cerin (47'), Kurtic (50'), Karnicnik (74'), Gorenc Stankovic (86')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Zivkovic (8'), Mitrovic (35')
Grujic (57'), Milinkovic-Savic (90+5')
Rajkovic (90+2')

Preview: Slovenia vs. Serbia - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Nations League clash between Slovenia and Serbia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Serbia will be looking to win their third successive UEFA Nations League match when they travel to the Stozice Sports Park in Ljubljana for their encounter with Slovenia on Sunday night.

The hosts will be seeking revenge against the Eagles, after they lost 4-1 away from home in the reverse fixture last week.


Match preview

Slovenia head coach Matjaz Kek pictured on June 5, 2022© Reuters

Slovenia remain the only team in League B Group 4 who are yet to win after their opening three fixtures, although they did claim their first point on Thursday against Norway.

Angers centre-back Miha Blazic was shown a straight red card in the 63rd minute for a late challenge on Erling Braut Haaland, but Matjaz Kek's men managed to hold on for a goalless draw in Oslo.

Slovenia currently sit bottom of their group, two points behind Sweden in third and five behind Sunday's opponents Serbia, so they are at risk of an immediate drop back down to the third tier having secured promotion in the last campaign.

Ranked 65th in the FIFA world rankings, Slovenia head into Sunday's contest with a mixed head-to-head record against Serbia, winning, drawing and losing one game each. Their solitary victory was on home soil back in October 2011 when they won 1-0 in a European Championship qualifier.

After conceding four against Serbia last week, including three in the final 34 minutes, Kek will have been satisfied with his side's defensive improvements against Norway, although keeping out a Serbia outfit who have scored in 10 of their last 12 internationals could prove challenging.

Serbia's Luka Jovic celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on June 9, 2022© Reuters

After losing 1-0 to Norway in their opening Nations League game, Serbia have since claimed back-to-back victories against Slovenia and Sweden.

Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Nemanja Radonjic and Luka Jovic were all on the scoresheet in the comfortable win over Slovenia, before the latter scored the only goal of the game against Sweden to secure a narrow 1-0 win in Stockholm on Thursday.

After three games, Dragan Stojkovic's side now have as many points as they accumulated from six matches in their previous Nations League campaign, and they currently sit just one point behind group leaders Norway.

Spirits are high among the Serbia camp and they head to Ljubljana on Sunday having won four of their last five away internationals, keeping three clean sheets in the process.

With one eye on the 2022 World Cup later this year, Stojkovic's players will be keen to impress in their penultimate game before they make the trip to Qatar as they bid to maintain their places in the senior squad.

Slovenia Nations League form:
  • L
  • L
  • D

Slovenia form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • D

Serbia Nations League form:
  • L
  • W
  • W

Serbia form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • W


Team News

Serbia's Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring their first goal on June 5, 2022© Reuters

Slovenia will be without the suspended Blazic following his red card last time out, with Jaka Bijol the most likely candidate to start at centre-back alongside David Brekalo.

Striker Andraz Sporar has begun on the substitutes' bench for the last two matches, but the 37-cap international will be hoping that he can force his way back into the first XI on Sunday ahead of either Benjamin Sesko or Zan Celar.

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who is closing in on his 50th cap, is set to remain between the sticks, while Adam Gnezda Cerin could start again in centre-midfield alongside veteran Jasmin Kurtic.

As for Serbia, Stojkovic has used three different goalkeepers in their first three matches, and considering Vanja Milinkovic-Savic started their first fixture, he may get the nod on Sunday ahead of Predrag Rajkovic and Marko Dmitrovic.

Stefan Mitrovic is set to replace Strahinja Pavlovic, joining Nikola Milenkovic and Milos Veljkovic in the back three, while Filip Kostic and Darko Lazovic could be handed starts as wing-backs.

The visitors will be able to welcome Aleksandr Mitrovic back from suspension and the Fulham striker is expected to replace Jovic in attack, with Dusan Tadic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic providing support in advanced midfield roles.

Slovenia possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Karnicnik, Bijol, Brekelo, Sikosek; Stjanovic, Cerin, Kurtic, Verbic; Sesko, Sporar

Serbia possible starting lineup:
V. Milinkovic-Savic; Milenkovic, Veljkovic, S. Mitrovic; Lazovic, Lukic, Gudelj, Kostic; S. Milinkovic-Savic, Tadic; A. Mitrovic


SM words green background

We say: Slovenia 0-2 Serbia

Slovenia showed their defensive resilience to keep out Norway on Thursday, but they may struggle to keep the likes of Mitrovic, Milinkovic-Savic and Tadic quiet in the final third on Sunday.

The visitors were clinical in their last encounter against the hosts and they should have no problems in securing maximum points again in Ljubljana.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


ID:487755:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11588:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Slovenia vs Serbia

Slovenia
6.6%
Draw
9.9%
Serbia
83.5%
91
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Spain's Alvaro Morata celebrates scoring a goal with teammates on March 29, 2022
Read Next:
Sunday's Nations League predictions including Portugal vs. Switzerland
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal642014
Q Croatia Croatia62228
3 Scotland flag Scotland62137
4 Poland Poland61144

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France641113
Q Italy Italy641113
3 Belgium Belgium61144
4 Israel Israel61144

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany642014
Q Netherlands Netherlands62319
3 Hungary Hungary61326
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina60242

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain651016
Q Denmark Denmark62228
3 Serbia Serbia61326
4 Switzerland Switzerland60242

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic632111
2 Ukraine Ukraine62228
3 Georgia Georgia62137
4 Albania national flag Albania62137

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England650115
2 Greece Greece650115
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland62046
4 Finland Finland60060

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Norway Norway641113
2 Austria Austria632111
3 Slovenia Slovenia62228
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan60151

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Wales flag Wales633012
2 Turkey Turkey632111
3 Iceland Iceland62137
4 Montenegro Montenegro61053

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Sweden Sweden651016
2 Slovakia Slovakia641113
3 Estonia Estonia61144
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan60151

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania550015
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo540112
3 Cyprus Cyprus62046
4 Lithuania Lithuania60060

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland632111
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria62319
3 Belarus Belarus61417
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg60333

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Macedonia N. Macedonia651016
2 Armenia Armenia62137
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands61326
4 Latvia Latvia61144

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q San Marino flag San Marino42117
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein40222

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Republic of Moldova Moldova43019
2 Malta flag Malta42117
3 Andorra flag Andorra40131


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!