Serbia travel to Lithuania on Sunday, with the expectation of all three points and a convincing performance. Dusan Tadic stole the show when Serbia beat Lithuania 2-0 in March and they will need his creativity once again this time around.
Lithuania
Lithuania currently sit in fourth place in Group G, picking up two points from four matches and they have quietly done well so far. They’ve been handed a 2-0 defeat against the two favourites to qualify (Serbia and Hungary), however their performances versus teams who are at a similar level to them have been promising and they are actually unbeaten at home.
The Lithuanian squad has plenty of character which was portrayed during their 1-1 draw against Bulgaria in June. Lithuania scored early on, yet Justas Lasickas was sent off just minutes later. From that point on they endured waves of Bulgarian attacks but they held on for the point. Furthermore, we had another glimpse at their never give in attitude on Thursday in a chaotic last 20 minute period. Lithuania took the lead in the 71st minute but found themselves 2-1 down by the 90th, the game ended 2-2 thanks to a late equaliser.
Serbia
Although Serbia are in second place at the moment, they have been rather underwhelming considering the amount of talented players they have at their disposal. They started the qualifying well with consecutive 2-0 victories against Lithuania and Montenegro, but their last two matches versus Bulgaria and Hungary has seen them pick up just one point.
Dragan Stojkovic will be desperate to turn around this poor run of form but in order for that to occur, he needs his attackers to start firing. In the 2-1 defeat to Hungary this week, Dusan Vlahovic had a game to forget as he missed three big chances but it is safe to presume that if the Juventus forward receives similar delivery to Thursday this weekend, then he will redeem himself against Lithuania.
Verdict?
Lithuania have an abundance of fighting spirit but given the fact they are slightly leaky at the back, it is reasonable to predict that Serbia claim all three points. The creativity of Filip Kostic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Tadic will be key to unlocking the Lithuanian backline.
The final prediction is Lithuania 0-3 Serbia.
