Aleksandar Mitrovic

Cyprus vs Serbia Preview, Prediction and Betting Tips | Friendlies

Arnav Kholkar

Cyprus vs Serbia Preview

Cyprus vs Serbia will take place at the AEK Arena in Athens, Greece as an International Friendly between the two European nations.

The hosts enter this game on the back of a reviving run of form. After six straight defeats in the EURO Qualifiers, they won 1-0 against Lithuania, before drawing 1-1 against Latvia in their last game. However, they faced some serious teams in the six defeats prior, shipping 23 goals in those games and scoring just twice. Now, with another non-important game ahead of them, the Cypriots will look to put their best foot forward for a result.

Serbia, on the other hand, enter this contest on the back of a mixed run of form. With four defeats, two wins and two draws in their last eight games, they are a team in desperate need of consistency. With just one win in their last five, Serbia have scored six goals in that span and conceded 10. Their last game was a 4-0 drubbing by Russia away from home in a friendly game and they were looking to put that behind them with a win in the next game.

That said, let’s take a look at the team news for both sides ahead of this game.

Cyprus vs Serbia Team News

Cyprus

Manager Temur Ketsbaia will have a good grasp of where his players stand after their 1-1 draw against Latvia on March 21. His entire squad was fit and available to play, with the manager using a total of 11 starters and six substitutes in that game.

Serbia

Manager Dragan Stojkovic fielded a mixed lineup in his team’s 4-0 defeat against Russia, with stars Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Filip Kostic and Aleksandar Mitrovic left on the bench. However, the trio can be expected to start the next match as the manager will look to give everyone a fair chance.

Dusan Tadic started in and starred in the last game and will retain his place alongside Sasa Lukic and Sasa Zdjelar in midfield. Apart from that, Serbia have no injuries to report either.

Cyprus vs Serbia
Serbia captain Dusan Tadic. (Getty Images)

Cyprus vs Serbia Predicted Lineups

Cyprus

Ketsbaia fielded his strongest XI in the 1-0 win against Lithuania and can be expected to do the same.

Predicted XI: Constantinos Panagi (GK); Andreas Karo, Alexander Gogic, Konstantinos Laifis; Nikolas Panagioutu, Grigoris Kastanos, Danilo Spoljaric, Charalampos Charalampous, Nicholas Ioannou; Loizos Loizou, Ioannis Pittas.

ALSO READ: Hungary vs Turkiye Preview, Prediction, and Betting Tips

Serbia

Stojkovic will make two changes to the team as his stars will return to the lineup. Milan Gajic will also miss out after his red card in the last match.

Predicted XI: Dorde Petrovic (GK); Erhan Masovic, Strahinja Erakovic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Filip Mladenovic; Dusan Tadic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Sasa Lukic; Andrija Zivkovic, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Mijat Gacinovic.

Cyprus vs Serbia Head-to-Head Record

These two teams have faced each other exclusively in International Friendlies and have met just four times in their history. Serbia have won three of those games, with one ending in a goalless draw.

Last 4 Games

  • Serbia 2-1 Cyprus (05/16)
  • Cyprus 1-3 Serbia (02/13)
  • Cyprus 0-0 Serbia (02/12)
  • Cyprus 0-2 Serbia (02/09)
Serbia
Serbia during their 4-0 defeat against Russia. (Getty Images)

Prediction

Considering the disparity in the quality of players the two nations possess, Serbia will almost always be favorite to win this game. They should do so with relative ease, considering every player is available and most of their stars are in good shape.

Prediction: Cyprus 1-4 Serbia.

Cyprus vs Serbia Betting Tips & Odds

Two of the four meetings between these two sides have seen both teams score, with both those games also seeing at least three total goals scored. Since they were the last two times these teams locked horns, it seems that momentum could carry forward with this game.

Betting Tips

  • Both Teams to Score – Yes: 2.09
  • Match Total – Over 3.5 Goals: 2.70
  • Serbia to Score in Both Halves – Yes: 2.02

Match Odds

  • Cyprus Win: 9.20
  • Draw: 5.40
  • Serbia Win: 1.31

Cyprus vs Serbia Timings & Telecast

  • Date & Time: Monday, March 25th at 6:00 PM (GMT).
  • India: No available telecast or stream.
  • UK: Available live on bet365, Betfair.
  • US: DAZN

ALSO READ: Portugal vs Sweden Player Ratings as Bruno Fernandes scores, Rafael Leao shines and Ramos shows brilliance