The intense encounters between Serbia and Switzerland during the last two World Cups captured the attention of the football world. However, their upcoming Nations League clash may see a reduction in intensity, especially considering both teams' lacklustre attacking performances last month.
Against Spain (0:0), Serbia were resolute in defence, prioritising the result over attacking endeavours, as evidenced by their meagre 0.73 xG from just one shot on target over 90 minutes. It seems the team are still grappling with choosing a primary striker, as despite having Aleksandar Mitrović, Dušan Vlahović, and Luka Jović at their disposal, AC Milan's reserve player started in both September matches. Against Denmark (0:2), Serbia were even more passive up front, despite needing to respond after conceding in the 36th minute, managing only 0.20 xG.
Facing Denmark away (0:2), Switzerland created numerous chances before Nico Elvedi's sending off forced them to play defensively, ultimately finishing the match with nine men. Against Spain (1:4), Switzerland had plenty of opportunities (20-9 in shots), but their finishing faltered (3-8 on shots on target and 1.08 xG vs 2.07 xG). The team overhaul is clearly impacting their performance levels.
Both teams are unlikely to take risks in this head-to-head fixture. Serbia and Switzerland are in desperate need of points, and thus, a cautious game with few chances is anticipated.
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Dragan Stojkovic
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coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
Predrag Rajković
|
gk. | 37 | -31 |
Aleksandar Jovanović
|
gk. | 1 | -1 |
Veljko Ilic
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
Nikola Milenković
|
df. | 58 | 3 |
Strahinja Pavlović
|
df. | 40 | 4 |
Strahinja Eraković
|
df. | 10 | 1 |
Kosta Nedeljković
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
Jan-Carlo Šimić
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
Saša Lukić
|
mf. | 51 | 2 |
Nemanja Maksimović
|
mf. | 49 | 0 |
Marko Grujić
|
mf. | 26 | 0 |
Lazar Vujadin Samardžić
|
mf. | 13 | 0 |
Veljko Birmancevic
|
mf. | 9 | 0 |
Sasa Zdjelar
|
mf. | 5 | 0 |
|
Aleksandar Cirkovic
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
Andrija Maksimović
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
Dejan Zukić
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
Aleksandar Mitrovic
|
fw. | 94 | 58 |
|
Luka Jović
|
fw. | 40 | 11 |
Dejan Joveljić
|
fw. | 6 | 2 |
Mihailo Ivanovic
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
Nikola Cumic
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
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Murat Yakin
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
Yvon Mvogo
|
gk. | 9 | -5 |
Gregor Kobel
|
gk. | 7 | -15 |
Philipp Köhn
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
Ricardo Rodríguez
|
df. | 122 | 9 |
Manuel Akanji
|
df. | 67 | 3 |
Nico Elvedi
|
df. | 54 | 2 |
Silvan Widmer
|
df. | 48 | 4 |
Edimilson Fernandes
|
df. | 30 | 2 |
Eray Cömert
|
df. | 15 | 0 |
Ulisses Garcia
|
df. | 7 | 0 |
Cédric Zesiger
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
Granit Xhaka
|
mf. | 131 | 14 |
Remo Freuler
|
mf. | 74 | 9 |
|
Michel Aebischer
|
mf. | 27 | 1 |
Fabian Rieder
|
mf. | 12 | 0 |
Vincent Sierro
|
mf. | 8 | 0 |
Filip Ugrinic
|
mf. | 2 | 0 |
Christian Witzig
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
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Breel Embolo
|
fw. | 70 | 15 |
Mohamed Zeki Amdouni
|
fw. | 21 | 8 |
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Dan Assane Ndoye
|
fw. | 16 | 1 |
Andi Zeqiri
|
fw. | 11 | 0 |
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Joël Almada Monteiro
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
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