2018 World Cup Odds and Prediction: Serbia Team Betting Preview

The Serbian team finds itself in decent position to move to the Round of 16 for the first time in program history – but to do so, it will need to avoid a letdown against Costa Rica, or face the grim reality of needing a victory over powerhouse Brazil.

2018 World Cup Serbia Odds 

Odds to advance: +110

Odds to win World Cup: +20,000

World Cup wins: 1* (since dissolution of Yugoslavia)

Best result: Group stage

FIFA World Ranking: 35

Manager: Mladen Krstajic

Captain: Aleksandar Kolarov

Serbia Players to Watch

 Aleksandar Mitrovic: The Serbian team will likely go only as far as their 23-year-old superstar takes them. Mitrovic is the heavy favourite to lead the club in goals at the tournament (+150), and is a solid play at +185 to go over on 1.5 goals. He comes into Russia with 13 goals in 35 international appearances, with six of those coming during Serbia’s qualifying run.

Dusan Tudic: While Mitrovic’s goal-scoring exploits garnered most of the attention in qualifying, Tudic provided dependable backup offence to help the Serbians return to the World Cup after missing out in 2014. Tudic scored four times in a five-game span of qualifying matches, and is listed at +400 to finish the tournament as Serbia’s leading goal-scorer.

Aleksandar Kolarov: The 32-year-old was named captain in place of Branislav Ivanovic, who some believe has lost a step. Kolarov is one of the most versatile players on the team, and will be called upon to provide leadership at the back end – and an occasional goal, when the chance arises. The set piece specialist is a +1,400 long shot to pace the team in goals.

Serbia World Cup Formation and Projected Starting 11

 Formation: 4-2-3-1

Projected Starting 11: Predrag Rajkovic; Antonio Rukavina, Branislav Ivanovic, Milos Veljkovic, Aleksandar Kolarov; Luka Milivojevic, Nemanja Matic; Marko Grujic, Dusan Tadic, Filip Kostic; Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Serbia Strengths

This Serbian side can score, as evidenced by the 20 goals it converted in 10 qualifying matches. A healthy and on-form Mitrovic is obviously a critical component of Serbia’s attack, but others – including Tadic and Filip Kostic, are capable of carrying the load if anything goes awry. They might not convert their +15,000 odds of leading the World Cup in scoring, but they should do enough up front to challenge for a spot in the Round of 16.

Serbia Weaknesses

 Tadic is the glue that holds this team together – and if he’s injured or contained, Serbia could find itself in serious trouble. And bettors need to weigh Krstajic’s relative inexperience; he took over the squad after it had already qualified for Russia, and has produced mixed results at the helm. If Krstajic struggles on the big stage, this Serbian side might be sunk even before finishing its Group E schedule against the world-class Brazilians.

Serbia News

 There’s plenty of experience on the back end, but Serbia will be without one of its top defenders as versatile center-back Matija Nastasic was left off the roster as he recovers from a knee injury. The 25-year-old Nastasic, who toils for Schalke of the Bundesliga, suffered ligament damage in April and had been considered doubtful for World Cup action.

 Serbia Betting Prediction

Serbia’s fate will ultimately come down to how they perform against the Swiss; a win would almost certainly send them through, while a loss will likely knock them out of the World Cup. Krstajic has a great mix of youth and experience at his disposal, and at +200 for a Round of 16 elimination – a virtual certainty if they finish second in Group E and face likely Group F winner Germany – you could do worse than betting on the Serbians to advance.

Of course, things could also go sideways – and with Mitrovic and Tadic so critical to this team’s success, any lag in performance from either player could spell disaster. And with the Brazilians expected to romp, Switzerland coming off a Round of 16 showing four years ago and even Costa Rica rising to the occasion in 2014, taking Serbia at -150 to fail to reach the elimination round might just be the best bet you can make on this team.