Montenegro – Serbia

In the Balkan derby, the Serbs will continue their winning tradition

One of Monday's crucial matches will be played in Podgorica. After their first-round European qualifying matches, Montenegro and Serbia lead Group G with three points. Correspondingly, Bulgaria and Lithuania are without a single tournament point after their opening matches, as well as Hungary, who missed Friday's round. Serbia played their match in Belgrade against Lithuania. Dragan Stojkovic had the opportunity to opt for a pragmatic style and let the leaders have an incomplete game before the more important encounter. Goals from Tadic and Vlahovic in the 16th and 53rd minutes gave the Serbs a comfortable 2-0 win. Montenegro played their game in Bulgaria, where they were not considered favourites. Moreover, even the first half showed an easy Montenegrin advantage, which was converted into the only goal in the match and the deserved final victory. Before the meeting between the Balkan national teams, bookmakers believe Serbia to be the favourite, offering odds of 1.77. Montenegro have had little chance of qualifying for the 2021 World Cup. During the qualifying tournament, a couple of unexpected results - 2-2 draws with the Netherlands and Turkey - were the best they could manage. The Montenegrins managed to secure a place in one of the most evenly matched groups in the 2022 B-League of Nations, along with Romania, Finland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and barely missed out on a place in the second division of the League of Nations. Serbia approached the start of the new qualifying campaign in maximum motivation. The team performed below expectations in Qatar, failing to make the group against Cameroon, Brazil and Switzerland. The decision to continue with Stojkovic was influenced by the Serbian side's confident performance ahead of the World Cup. In the Nations League, Serbia lost only five points from a possible eighteen against Sweden, Slovenia and Norway to take the top spot. Montenegro and Serbia have already met in 2018. Both games were won by the Serbs, with Mitrovic scoring a total of three goals against the Montenegrins. We're betting that the visitors will continue their winning tradition.