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

England welcome Serbia to Wembley on Friday morning with their World Cup place already secured. Thomas Tuchel's side are one of 28 nations through to the tournament, meaning this qualifier carries little significance for the Three Lions.

For Serbia, it's a different story entirely. They sit third in Group K, a single point behind second-placed Albania. Dropping points at Wembley could deal a lethal blow to their playoff hopes. 

Read on for the latest odds from NZ betting apps for this match, plus our England vs Serbia preview including an $8 tip.

England

Six out of six - England have been flawless in the World Cup qualifiers under Tuchel. Yet the German has faced criticism for what some see as an overly cautious approach. There's a feeling among critics that he hasn't quite unlocked the full potential of the talented squad at his disposal.

With qualification already secured, though, Tuchel now has the freedom to experiment and fine-tune his setup. A highly-motivated Serbia side should provide a proper test.

Team News: Newcastle duo Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope have withdrawn from the squad with injuries. Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi is also unavailable.

Predicted Lineup: Pickford; Lewis-Skelley, Konsa, Stones, Spence; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane.

Serbia

Unlike their Friday morning hosts, Serbia were not favourites across the best betting sites in NZ to make the World Cup finals. Serbia's playoff prospects looked far brighter until successive losses derailed their campaign.

A hammering against England was somewhat expected, but losing at home to Albania did the real damage. Now, they are facing an uphill battle: take something away from Wembley and pray Albania stumble in their final matches.

Team News: Nicola Milenkovic and Sasa Lukic are set to return after serving suspensions against Albania.

Predicted Lineup: Petrovic; Milenkovic, Erakovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, Gudelj, Maksimovic, Samardzic, Terzic; Mitrovic, Vlahovic.

• The last time Serbia avoided defeat against England was back in 1974 - when they were still known as Yugoslavia.
• England have not conceded any goals in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers yet. 
• England have not conceded in their last two meetings with Serbia.

England have one of the strongest teams on the planet right now. Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Declan Rice, John Stones, Jude Bellingham - there is quality all across the pitch. 

Serbia also have a formidable XI with exciting players like Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Pavlovic, but football betting sites still have them pegged as underdogs for this one.

The two sides last met in Belgrade in September, where the gulf in quality was clear as Tuchel’s men cruised to a 5-0 victory. They also faced off at the Euros last year, when England had to grind out a narrow win thanks to a Bellingham goal.

Despite all their firepower, England do struggle to hit rhythm at times - the Andorra match showed that. Serbia will try to make life difficult for English attackers with a compact shape and try to get goals from counters. 

Veljko Paunovic’s side have looked shaky at the back in recent matches. They couldn’t keep a clean-sheet in any of their last three outings. So, it doesn’t look likely that they would be able to deny a star-studded England attacking line. We believe England will win big once again.

England 3-0 Serbia @ $8.00

Serbia are a strong unit, but their confidence level must have taken a hit after their recent run of poor results. A 3-1 win against Andorra kept their hopes alive, but they must salvage something against England to stay in pursuit of a playoff spot. This should give enough attacking opportunities to England. A 3-0 win for the hosts is likely, with a juicy payout of $8 for this bet at Sportaza.