12 Jun 2019
The seemingly unthinkable could happen on Wednesday evening, as World Cup outright favourites Brazil could fall at the Group stage for the first time since 1966 should Serbia defeat them and Switzerland secure a point against Costa Rica.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has scored 15 goals in Serbia’s last 18 games, thinks the fear of failure for Brazil will pile pressure on the Selacao at the Otkritie Arena in Moscow.
In a press conference ahead of their Group E clash, the 23-year-old Newcastle United striker said: “I think there is more pressure on Brazil, because they are not accustomed to this situation, that they can fall into the first round, while we have nothing to lose.
“And I think that as long as we are in the game, it will give us a chance to go further.
“We need to be smart, give our best, and with a little luck and God’s help, we can win.”
Serbia cannot afford to sit back, as anything less than victory will see them eliminated. While they defeated Costa Rica, they were a little unfortunate against Switzerland, with Mitrovic being denied a clear penalty that would have given them a share of the spoils. Instead they suffered a controversial 2-1 defeat, which sees them a point behind both Brazil and the Swiss.
Mitrovic is 7/1 to be the first goalscorer and is 11/5 to score at any time. Given his strike-rate and Serbia’s need to win, those odds will surely interest many.
Serbia’s biggest problem is not scoring goals – it is keeping a clean sheet. They have lost each of the six World Cup matches in which they have conceded.
While the Serbia v Brazil match odds suggest that Brazil should win, Serbia will hope that they can continue a trend of winning their opening World Cup group game and qualifying for the knockout stage, which has happened on three of four occasions.
Brazil are current World Cup favourites, but they have been far from impressive, having been held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland and then needing two injury-time goals to defeat Costa Rica 2-0.
In the flip side, Brazil have kept a clean sheet in nine of their last 12 matches and are undefeated in their last 19 matches. They have conceded just three goals in the last 13 competitive games and there have been under 2.5 goals scored in five of Brazil’s last six games. It is 11/5 that Brazil win and under 2.5 goals are scored in total.
Neymar has had a quiet start, but he is still woefully short of match fitness following a broken toe which kept him sidelined pre-tournament. While he has slipped in the Golden Boot betting, he got off the mark against Costa Rica, and is looking a lot sharper now and it is no surprise to see Neymar at 11/4 to score the first goal and 5/6 to score at any time.
Yet it is the form of former Liverpool man Phillipe Coutinho that has kept Brazil ticking over. His goal against Costa Ricas was his 12th for his country and five of those have come from outside the box. He has scored in each of his last three appearances for Brazil and Coutinho is 11/2 to score the first goal and 13/8 to score at any time.
Brazil are forced into a couple of changes for the clash against Serbia, with Douglas Costa sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained against Costa Rica, with Chelsea’s Willian set to keep his place on the right.
Danilo, too, is out with a thigh problem, which should see Fagner keep his place in the side.
Serbia and Brazil have met four times at the World Cup and each has two wins to their name. The draw is available at 16/5. However, in 19 total meetings (including as the former Yugoslavia), Serbia have won just twice (D7 L10).
Check out all the latest Serbia v Brazil odds for Wednesday’s evening’s game (7pm) and don’t forget, you can also bet in running.
