Preview: Bahrain vs. Serbia - prediction, team news, lineups

Before kicking off their World Cup campaign against Brazil next week, Serbia will take on Bahrain in an international friendly on Friday.

Dragan Stojkovic's side will look to continue building momentum ahead of what should be a tough group, having most recently impressed in the UEFA Nations League.

Match preview

Bahrain head into their final scheduled match of 2022 having fallen short of reaching the upcoming World Cup in qualification last year, as they finished third in their second-round group behind Iran and Iraq.

That finish, at least, saw them remain in AFC Asian Cup qualifying, and they returned to action in June to fight for their spot in next year's competition, eventually topping their group with a perfect record thanks to 2-0, 2-1 and 1-0 victories over Bangladesh, Malaysia and Turkmenistan respectively.

Following friendly defeats to Cape Verde and Panama in September, the Pearl Divers most recently took on World-Cup-bound Canada last Friday, and they came away with a commendable 2-2 draw, initially coming from behind to lead 2-1 thanks to goals from Mahdi Al-Humaidan and Yusuf before an Ali Haram own goal levelled the scores 10 minutes from time.

Now without a World Cup to prepare for, but with the Gulf Cup and AFC Asian Cup looming next year, Helio Sousa's side will aim to build confidence with what would be an impressive victory over their European visitors.

Serbia, meanwhile, arrive for their final preparations before they begin life in the group stage in Qatar on Thursday, having most recently been in competitive action in September, when they rounded off an impressive UEFA Nations League campaign to top their group in League B.

The Eagles also performed particularly impressively on the continent last year to reach the upcoming competition, pipping Portugal to top spot in their qualifying group with an unbeaten record in eight matches, winning six of those.

They secured that position with a victory over the heavily-fancied Portuguese national side in the final round of fixtures, avoiding a playoff tie as they dished out a 2-1 beating at the Estadio Da Luz thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Mitrovic was again the star in their final Nations League fixtures, and their most recent outings prior to Friday's friendly and the upcoming group stage, netting a hat-trick in a 4-1 thrashing of Sweden before getting on the scoresheet alongside Dusan Vlahovic as they triumphed 2-0 in Norway.

Now heading into seemingly one of the toughest World Cup groups alongside Brazil, Cameroon and Switzerland, Dragan Stojkovic's side will look to put a victory on the board in Bahrain before making the short trip to Qatar ahead of their unenviable curtain-raiser against the former next Thursday.

Bahrain International Friendlies form:

Bahrain form (all competitions):

Team News

Bahrain should deploy a similar team to the one that drew with Canada on Friday, with Yusuf again set to lead the line after adding to his international tally in that contest.

Mahdi Al-Humaidan will keep his place on the right flank in a 4-3-3 setup after also finding the net, while the likes of Kamil Al-Aswad and Jasim Al-Shaikh bring experience in the central areas.

Ebrahim Lutfalla should again play between the sticks, having recently been preferred over 37-year-old goalkeeper Sayed Mohammed Jaffer, who has turned out 145 times for the national team.

In their last game before the World Cup, Serbia should look to field a full-strength side to allow Stojkovic to make his final decisions, although key striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is unlikely to be deemed fit following an ongoing injury issue, despite the Fulham man being called up for the tournament.

In his expected absence, Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic should lead the line alongside Luka Jovic, while Bianconeri teammate Filip Kostic is expected to play an important role on the left flank.

Talismanic captain Dusan Tadic should complete the attacking unit, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic offers plenty of quality in the engine room, with the likes of Ivan Ilic, Sasa Lukic, Nemanja Maksimovic and Nemanja Gudelj fighting to join the Lazio man.

Lutfalla; Hasan, Benaddi, Al Hayam, Saeed; Al Aswad, Al Shaikh, Ali; Al-Humaidan, Yusuf, Marhoon

Rajkovic; Veljkovic, S Mitrovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, Milinkovic-Savic, Lukic, Kostic; Tadic; Jovic, Vlahovic

We say: Bahrain 0-2 Serbia

Bahrain performed well against Canada, but Serbia should be a much tougher challenge, and we see Stojkovic and co establishing their dominance ahead of their bid to go deep into the World Cup.