Serbia vs Spain Uefa Nations League prediction and stats: European champions begin defence of their other crown
Uefa Nations League holders Spain start the defence of their crown when they travel to face Serbia on Thursday.
Of course, Spain are also newly-crowned four-time European champions having beaten England in the final in July. At that same tournament Serbia, often cast as a dark horse, finished bottom of their group.
Three predictions for Serbia vs Spain
Serbia 1-2 Spain (14/5 with CopyBet)
Spain are on a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions. However, they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past four victories.
Dani Olmo to score anytime (19/10 with Midnite)
Dani Olmo ended up being the unlikely goal hero for Spain at Euro 2024 having started the tournament as a substitute. He has scored in three of Spain’s last four international games.
Spain to win by exactly 1 goal (11/5 with Paddy Power)
Four of Spain’s past six matches have seen them win by a solitary goal. The only exceptions were a 4-1 win over Georgia and an extra-time victory against Germany — which was by one goal, but finished level after 90 minutes.
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How to watch Serbia vs Spain live
Serbia and Spain kicks off on Thursday 5th September,at 7:45pm (UK time) and will be broadcast live in the UK on Premier Sports.
How both teams go into Serbia vs Spain
Given the plethora of talented players available to Serbia at any given time, so much is expected of them regarding tournaments. But Serbia often fail to deliver and it was the same again at Euro 2024.
Behind placed in a modestly competitive group alongside England, Denmark and Slovenia, Serbia finished bottom with two points. They were the only team in the group to lose a game. Questions were asked about Dragan Stojkovic’s future, but he remains in charge.
On the other side, it was a summer to remember for Spain. La Roja weren’t among the obvious favourites for the tournament, but Luis de la Fuente’s men played the most scintillating football and were deserving champions. It came after Spain hadn’t looked too convincing in some friendly matches.
As well as being European champions, they are also defending Uefa Nations League holders. Spain beat Croatia on penalties in last year’s final, having fallen to France two years prior. They now seek to become the first nation to retain the Uefa Nations League.
Serbia host Spain on Thursday 5th September at 7:45pm (UK time) at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade.
Serbia team news
Dusan Tadic has called time on an international career that brought 23 goals and 40 assists across 111 caps. There was hope that Aleksandar Mitrovic would fill his shoes for experience, but the Al Hilal striker has pulled out of the squad due to injury.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has also had to drop out due to injury, while Dusan Vlahovic and Nemanja Stojic have been withdrawn. It means Luka Jovic is the top scorer of Serbia’s squad with 11 goals, seven more than the next best.
Spain team news
After Spain’s success at Euro 2024, Jesus Navas confirmed his retirement from international football. He’s not the only name from Euro 2024 to drop out for this squad. Unai Simon, Nacho Fernandez, Alex Baena, Fermin Lopez, Alvaro Morata and Mikel Merino all miss out, with the latter injured.
Morata received a one-match suspension from Uefa after he chanted “Gibraltar is Spanish” during Spain’s Euro 2024 celebrations. Rodri is also suspended for the chant, but remains in Spain’s squad for their next game.
Serbia vs Spain head-to-head
These two sides have met just once before. In May 2012, Spain beat Serbia 2-0 as they prepared to successfully defend their European Championship crown.
| Serbia vs Spain H2H | |||||||
| Date | Score | Ground | |||||
| 26/05/12 | Spain 2-0 Serbia | AFG Arena, St Gallen | |||||
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