Wales vs Serbia – FIFA World Cup Qualifier – Preview

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Sreya

Wales vs Serbia – Wales take on Serbia at the Cardiff City Stadium on 12th November, Saturday in a crucial Group D fixture of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign for the UEFA nations.

With only the team which finishes atop the group standings automatically qualifying for the World Cup, the home matches have taken an even greater significance and Wales must bounce back with a win following their draws against Austria and Georgia after beginning the campaign with an impressive 4-0 win over Moldova.

Wales are third in Group D with five points while Serbia are leading Group D with seven points, ahead of Republic of Ireland on goal difference. Serbia began their qualifiers with a 2-2 draw against Republic of Ireland but have since registered victories over Moldova and Austria.

Team News

James Collins and Ben Davies are injured for Wales but Serbia have a completely healthy squad to choose from.

Wales Possible Starting Lineup: Wayne Hennessey, James Chester, Ashley Williams, Paul Dummett, Chris Gunter, Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Ledley, Neil Taylor, Sam Vokes, Gareth Bale.

Serbia Possible Starting Lineup: Vladimir Stojkovic, Matija Nastasic, Branislav Ivanovic, Stefan Mitrovic, Antonio Rukavina, Nemanja Matic, Luka Milvojevic, Aleksandar Kolarov, Dusan Tadic, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Filip Kosic.

“It’s massive. It has a bit of a similar feel to that Belgium game. We need to give the fans something to get excited about early on. Then we want them to have that same atmosphere to drive us on.”

– Ashley Williams, Wales.

Contributor’s Pick

According to Wales vs Serbia H2H stats, the last four meetings between these two clubs have all resulted in wins for Serbia. In fact, Wales last home defeat in a competitive fixture came against Serbia in 2013 in the qualifying campaign for the previous FIFA World Cup.

It should be a closely contested affair and Wales are likely to win 2-1.