UEFA World Cup Qualifiers: Serbia vs England - Betting Tips, Odds & Prediction

On the 9th September, Thomas Tuchel will take his England side to the cauldron of the Stadion Rajko Mitić  where England will face Serbia. With four wins from their opening four games, three points in Serbia will leave England on the cusp of World Cup Qualification. A win for Serbia will see control of the group put into their hands. This will be the first time that the two have faced off in qualifying and it could be one of the best qualification games that we have seen so far.

Serbia

Serbia head into this game with England sitting five points behind England but have played a game less. After an opening match draw against Latvia, Serbia have picked up successive wins against Andorra, before edging a tight contest against the Latvians 1-0. This is by far their biggest test of qualification so far, but victory against the 3 Lions will put their qualification destiny in their own hands.

Team news: Serbia seem to have few injury worries heading into this crucial clash with England, although it will be interesting to see whether Aleksander Katai starts following his withdrawal at half time. Aleksander Mitrovic started on the bench against Latvia and will be pushing for a return.

Predicted Lineup: Petrovic, Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Velijkovic, Ilic, Kostic, Katai, Lukic, Zivkovic, Jovic, Vlahovic

England

If you look at England’s points total you would think that four wins from four would see them arrive in Serbia in great heart, but it’s not been all plain sailing. Despite their four wins, England have looked laboured and it’s fair to say that the Thomas Tuchel era hasn’t gotten off to the most exciting of starts. Still, England have almost achieved their aim of qualification at their earliest convenience and a win on Tuesday will almost guarantee them their place at next summer’s World Cup.

Team News: Following their lifeless 2-0 win against Andorra, Thomas Tuchel looks to have a full squad to choose from.

Predicted Lineup: Pickford, Lewis-Skelley, Burn, Guehi, James, Anderson,  Rice, Rashford, Eze, Madueke, Kane

• England won the last game between the two sides. Jude Bellingham was the scorer in a narrow 1-0 win at Euro 2024.
• Serbia are undefeated in their last seven competitive home games. Their last defeat came in 2023 against Hungary.
• England are yet to concede a goal in their World Cup qualification campaign.

Most football betting sites believe that Tuesday’s contest between Serbia and England will be a cagey affair. Whilst there will be plenty of attacking talent on the pitch, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a similar result play out when the two teams met at Euro 2024 with England sneaking a 1-0 victory.

Although England hasn’t set the world alight from an attacking perspective, they have been stubborn at the back and have yet to concede a goal. Look for them to keep things tight at the back and try to catch Serbia on the break.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see under 2.5 goals, with England’s added class up front ending up to prove decisive.

Under 0.5 first half goals

Both teams will be keen to avoid defeat in this critical Group K encounter, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the first half was a scrappy and cagey affair. Backing there to be no goals in the first half will see odds returned at 2.75 and it could be worth a small play.