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Serbia begin their preparations for the upcoming 2024 European Championship when they take on Russia in a friendly at Moscow's VTB Arena on Thursday.
Valeriy Karpin’s men were on the receiving end of a heavy 5-0 defeat when both sides last met in November 2020 and will be looking to get one over the Eagles.
Russia turned in a performance of the highest quality in Volgograd as they cruised to an 8-0 victory over Cuba in their last outing on November 20.
Karpin’s side have now gone four consecutive games without defeat, picking up two wins and two draws since September’s 2-1 friendly defeat at the hands of Egypt.
Russia, who are currently 38th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, will now look to begin the new year as they mean to go on, having ended 2023 on a high.
Serbia, on the other hand, brought their European Championship qualifying journey to an end with a thrilling 2-2 draw with Bulgaria last time out.
Dragan Stojkovic’s men ended the campaign with 14 points from eight matches to secure a place in Germany as they finished second in Group G, four points off group winners Hungary.
Serbia have been drawn in Group C of the upcoming Euro 2024 and will square off against Denmark, Slovenia and 2020 beaten finalists England.
Russia vs Serbia Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- With three wins from the last six meetings between the sides, Russia boast a superior record in the history of this fixture.
- Serbia have managed just one win against Karpin’s men in that time, while the spoils have been shared on two occasions.
- Russia have lost just one of their last 11 matches across all competitions while picking up four wins and six draws since November 2021.
- Serbia have won all but one of their last four friendly matches, with a 1-0 loss against Belgium back in November being the exception.
Russia vs Serbia Prediction
Both form and history are in Russia's favor, as they head into Thursday's game unbeaten in their last four outings.
While we expect Serbia to put up a fight, we fancy Karpin’s side to come away with a narrow victory in front of their home supporters.
Prediction: Russia 2-1 Serbia
Russia vs Serbia Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Russia to win
Tip 2: Over 2.5 goals - Yes (There have been three or more goals scored in five of Serbia’s last six matches)
Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have been fewer than five bookings in the last five meetings between the two nations)
