Prediction: Serbia vs Norway

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 6/5

Bookmaker: 888sport

Serbia will host Norway at the Rajko Mitic Stadium on Thursday evening in the opening round of League B Group 4 of the UEFA Nations League. At the same time, Slovenia will be playing against Sweden in the same group in Ljubljana.

Serbia

In the previous edition of this competition, Serbia finished third in their group, behind Hungary and Russia, with only Turkey remaining below merely on goal-difference. But much has changed for this team since.

Coach Dragan Stojkovic has managed to put together a fine group of very decent players, as well as to get them playing in a clearly defined system. Success was sure to follow, though most were surprised by their superb World Cup qualifying campaign as they strode towards a glorious finish, beating mighty Portugal in Lisbon to book a place in Qatar without appearing in the play-offs. It was Ajax captain Dusan Tadic and Fulham’s record-breaking striker Aleksandar Mitrovic who scored to overturn Renato Sanches’s early opener for Portugal.

Not many see the point of playing in the Nations League, rightly pointing out that player welfare is being neglected in a bid to squeeze as many games as possible into their already packed schedules, but for the teams set to play in Qatar later this year, it’s surely a good opportunity to test themselves in a competitive environment.

Speaking to the press a few days ago, Stojkovic said he and his staff will do everything they can for the players to be as fit as possible for the upcoming games after the long and difficult season they went through with their respective clubs.

Team news

Stojkovic had to remove Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic from his squad due to an unspecified injury concern. It means Real Madrid’s Luka Jovic, who is far from a regular feature in Carlo Ancelotti’s Champions League-winning team, is set to either partner or act as a backup for Mitrovic upfront.

Captain of his club, Tadic is the captain of his country as well, and he’ll surely be the main source of leadership on the pitch for Serbia.

Norway

Norway will have their own reasons for doing the best they can in this competition. Unlike Serbia, they have failed to qualify for the World Cup and we will be denied the pleasure of watching the likes of Erling Haaland, set to leave Borussia Dortmund when the transfer window opens next month, as well as Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard.

Stale Solbakken’s team finished third in Group G of the qualifying process, behind Netherlands and Turkey, which obviously wasn’t enough for them to reach the play-offs. The goalless draw at home against Latvia shredded their chances of better placement completely, quite apart from the fact that it was shocking that they couldn’t score, and the 2-0 defeat away to Netherlands in the final round was only to be expected.

Norway will have found some consolation in friendly triumphs over Slovakia and Armenia since, but this, the Nations League, is arguably the best chance they’ll get to make amends for not booking a place in Qatar any time soon.

In his presser, Solbakken encouraged midfielder Sander Berge to leave Championship side Sheffield United and move to a top-flight club this summer, but Berge himself refused to discuss the subject at this point.

Team News

Defenders Kristoffer Ajer of Brentford (not called up) and Omar Elabdellaou of Galatasaray (injury) aren’t with the squad and won’t be available for selection. Haaland is there to lead the attacking line, however, and the Serbian defence will surely have their hands full trying to deal with him. Berge and Odegaard will probably form the vertical midfield axis, while Mohamed Elyounoussi of Southampton and Jens Petter Hauge of Eintracht Frankfurt attack from wide positions.

Conclusion

This is likely to be a lively affair. The atmosphere is always fiery at the Rajko Mitic, but the individual quality of Haaland as well as Norway’s motivation to start the competition with a win will surely push Serbia hard, despite the  the home side boasting more quality as a whole. Nonetheless, Serbia are the favourites to win.

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 6/5

Bookmaker: 888sport