Serbia vs Switzerland: World Cup: Team news, lineups & prediction
Switzerland and Serbia meet in their final group G game, with both still in with a shout of making the knockout stages.
The Swiss have the greater chance, and they know a draw will almost certainly be good enough should Cameroon not spring a major surprise against Brazil.
Serbia have much less room for manoeuvre, though, and that should make for a very fiery affair.
Here's what you need to know about the game.
Where are Serbia vs Switzerland playing?
- Location: Al Rayyan, Qatar
- Stadium: Stadium 974
- Date: Friday 2 December 2022
- Kick-off time: 19:00 GMT / 14:00 ET / 11:00 PT
Serbia vs Switzerland H2H Results
- Serbia: 0 wins
- Switzerland: 1 Win
- Draws: 0
Current Form (Last Five Games)
- Serbia: WWWLD
- Switzerland: WWLWL
Serbia team news
Serbia face an anxious wait over key defender Strahinja Pavlovic ahead of the crucial clash.
The centre-back was forced to come off in the 3-3 draw against Cameroon with an injury but is hopeful he can recover in time. If he fails to make it, Stefan Mitrovic is expected to deputise.
Serbia predicted lineup vs Switzerland
Serbia Starting 11 (3-4-2-1): V Milinkovic-Savic; Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Veljkovic; Zivkovic, Maksimovic, Lukic, Kostic; S Milinkovic-Savic, Tadic; A Mitrovic
Bench: Dmitrović, Rajković, Jović, Vlahović, Eraković, S Mitrović, Babić, Mladenović, Radonjić, Gudelj, Uroš Račić, Filip Đuričić, Lazović, Ivan Ilić, Marko Grujić
Switzerland team news
Switzerland may recall the experienced Xherdan Shaqiri for the game against Serbia with Fabian Rieder most likely to drop out.
They do not have any major fitness doubts going into the match so will almost certainly go with their tried and trusted formula.
Switzerland predicted lineup vs Serbia
Switzerland Starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Sommer; Widmer, Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez; Xhaka, Freuler; Shaqiri, Sow, Vargas; Embolo
Bench: Omlin, Kobel, Köhn, Seferović, Cömert, Schär, Fernandes, Zakaria, Steffen, Aebischer, Fassnacht, Frei, Rieder, Jashari
Serbia vs Switzerland score prediction
It's essentially a knockout game, so we can probably expect a feisty occasion.
Just to add to the mix, there is also some political history between the nations that is relevant to a couple of key players in the Switzerland squad. Serbia, meanwhile, are never afraid to make things physical at the best of times.
It's two evenly-matched teams on paper, though, so it will come down to whose top players handle the occasion better. Traditionally, that has always been Switzerland, so they will likely edge it again - just as they did at the 2018 World Cup.
Prediction: Serbia 1-2 Switzerland