Serbia vs Saudi Arabia - prediction, team news, lineups

Serbia volition invited Saudi Arabia to the TSC Arena successful Backa Topola for Tuesday's planetary friendly.

The 2 nations volition some beryllium looking to bounce backmost from dense defeats successful their archetypal outings of the March planetary window. 

Match preview

After featuring astatine 4 of the past 5 World Cup finals, Serbia volition person to hold astatine slightest 4 years to marque their adjacent quality successful football's biggest tournament. 

That is due to the fact that they fell abbreviated successful past year's qualifying campaign, finishing successful 3rd spot successful Group K aft winning four, drafting 1 and losing 3 of their 8 qualifiers.

Their 13-point tally near them 11 points adrift of radical winners England and conscionable a constituent distant from Albania, who precocious to the playoff stage.

Veljko Paunovic bore small work for his nation's qualifying failure, fixed the information that helium took implicit the reins up of the last 2 matches, which resulted successful a 2-0 decision to England and a 2-1 triumph implicit Latvia.

Serbia started their 2026 docket with a heavy 3-0 defeat to European champions Spain astatine the Estadio de la Cerámica - six months aft Paunovic's Real Oviedo broadside mislaid 2-0 to Villarreal astatine the aforesaid venue.

The 48-year-old, who was sacked by Oviedo successful October, volition instrumentality his nationalist broadside backmost location for their first-ever crippled against Saudi Arabia, with the hosts targeting back-to-back wins connected location soil.

In opposition to their opponents, Saudi Arabia volition beryllium 1 of the 48 teams astatine the 2026 World Cup successful Canada, Mexico and the USA.

After progressing done the 2nd circular of qualifying, Saudi Arabia missed retired connected automatic qualification successful the 3rd stage, finishing down Japan and Australia with 13 points from 10 matches.

As a result, they had to travel done a mini round-robin tourney successful October, which saw them bushed Indonesia and gully with Iraq to pip the second to apical spot connected goals scored.

The first-place decorativeness sealed Saudi Arabia's spot successful a 3rd consecutive World Cup, wherever they volition look two-time winners Uruguay, 2010 champions Spain and tourney debutants Cape Verde.

While they whitethorn beryllium successful a tricky group, the Green Falcons volition caput to North America with hopes of reaching the knockout rounds for the archetypal clip since the 1994 tournament.

However, they volition request to debar results and performances similar Friday's forgettable 4-0 defeat to Egypt if they are to execute that objective.

Serbia signifier (all competitions):

L L W L W L 

Saudi Arabia signifier (all competitions):

W W L W L L 

Team News

Paunovic could marque respective changes to his Serbia broadside successful a bid to stock retired the minutes crossed the 2 March friendlies.

Predrag Rajkovic, Strahinja Erakovic, Stefan Bukinac and Kosta Nedeljkovic are successful contention to commencement Tuesday's fixture.

There could besides beryllium starting spots for Fulham's Sasa Lukic, Atalanta's Lazar Samardzic and AEK Athens' Luka Jovic. 

As for the visitors, they are incapable to telephone upon Moteb Al-Harbi owed to injury, portion Ali Lajami and Hassan Kadesh person been omitted from the travelling enactment for the travel to Serbia.

Renard has opted to telephone up goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais pursuing Friday's dense decision to Egypt.

Rayan Hamed, Muteb Al-Mufarrij, Naif Masoud, Marwan Al-Sahafi and Abdullah Al-Hamdan could each travel into Renard's reasoning for Tuesday's fixture.

Serbia imaginable starting lineup:

Rajkovic; Nedeljkovic, Milenkovic, Erakovic, Bukinac; Gudelj, Lukic; Birmancevic, Samardzic, Kostic; Jovic

Saudi Arabia imaginable starting lineup:

Al-Aqidi; Abdulhamid, Hamed, Al-Amri, Al-Mufarrij; Kanno, Masoud; Al-Faraj, Al-Hamdan, Al-Sahafi; Al-Buraikan

We say: Serbia 2-1 Saudi Arabia

While some teams whitethorn person suffered dense defeats connected Friday, Serbia's nonaccomplishment took spot against a overmuch tougher team, and we deliberation they volition rapidly prime themselves up from their disappointing effect against Spain to instrumentality to winning ways successful Tuesday's location fixture. 

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.