Serbia vs Bulgaria prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-11-18 14:00.
Serbia head into their final UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier (ECQ) here, and despite having made things difficult with defeats at home and away against now-qualified Hungary in Group G, Dragan Stojković’s side only need a draw against neighbours Bulgaria to soar into their first European Championship finals since splitting from Montenegro in 2007.
Ironically, it’s Montenegro who will be pipped to a top two spot should Serbia gain a point here, but despite sitting in pole position, the Serbs come into this match in poor spirits, having lost 1-0 to Belgium on Wednesday. That means that they’ve suffered three defeats in five for the first time since June 2018, though the Eagles remain strong in attack at home in ECQs at least, having scored in their last 11 such games (W5, D1, L5).
Bulgaria have their own motivations when they travel to Leskovac on Sunday, aiming to avoid becoming the first Lions side not to win a single ECQ for a specific tournament since the very first edition held in 1960! The team came heartbreakingly close to getting those elusive three points against Hungary on Thursday, only for Aleks Petkov to put through his own net in the 97th minute.
If Bulgaria were to grab a shock victory, it would represent their first win in over a calendar year, but given they haven’t come out on top against a nation ranked inside the top 30 since a 3-2 triumph over Sweden in August 2017, beating #29-ranked Serbia seems a tall order. Head coach Ilian Iliev won’t be looking to the H2H record for inspiration either (D1, L2), although Bulgaria did claim a point in the reverse fixture in June.
Players to watch: In red-hot form, Serbia’s all-time record scorer Aleksandar Mitrović has scored an incredible 12 goals in his last nine games for club and country. Bulgaria captain Kiril Despodov is his country’s highest active scorer (G11), but he’s only tasted victory four times when he has found the back of the net however (D3, L4).
Hot stat: There has been a first-half goal scored in each of Serbia’s last 13 home Euros group qualifiers.