Serbia will visit Lithuania for their Euro 2024 qualifying fixture on Sunday, looking to put their midweek loss behind them.
They suffered a defeat to Hungary in their first match of the international period, while Lithuania fought back to earn a point against Montenegro.
The teams met sitting on seven points apiece after June’s fixtures, with Serbia being held to a 1-1 draw by Bulgaria.
Despite taking the lead, they could not prevent Hungary from winning all three points. As a result, Montenegro has pulled within two points in Group G.
With just four rounds remaining, Serbia cannot afford to let things slip any further and must secure a top-two finish to guarantee a place in Germany next summer.
After failing to win a game at Qatar 2022, coach Dragan Stojkovic knows that he must steer his team to the European Championship finals.
Lithuania is still searching for their first win of the qualification process, having lost two and drawn two so far.
After a 2-2 draw with Montenegro, they sit second-bottom of the standings, only ahead of Bulgaria on goal difference.
The hosts have been struggling to score goals and maintain momentum. Fourteen games have passed since their last victory, which came against San Marino well over a year ago.
Eddie Jankauskas will be keen to restore some pride and end their long winless run.
Serbia’s strikeforce could be comprised of Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, who are yet to score on the road to Germany.
Lithuania’s most experienced player, Arvydas Novikovas, should start on the wing.
Despite Lithuania’s defensive issues, they may try to keep the scoreline respectable against a team of Serbia’s calibre.
However, Serbia’s quality and experience make them the favourites to win this match.
Predicted Lineups:
Lithuania possible starting lineup:
- Gertmonas
- Lasickas
- Lekiatas
- Girdvainis
- Benetas
- Verbickas
- Gineitis
- Novikovas
- Cernych
- Jankauskas
- Paulauskas
Serbia possible starting lineup:
- V. Milinkovic-Savic
- Veljkovic
- Gudelj
- Pavlovic
- Zivkovic
- Ilic
- S. Milinkovic-Savic
- Kostic
- Tadic
- Vlahovic
- Mitrovic
Prediction: Lithuania 0-2 Serbia
