Preview: Greece vs Serbia - prediction, team news, lineups

Under pressure in League A of the UEFA Nations League, Greece will welcome Serbia to Panthessaliko Stadium for their final Group 2 showdown on Monday.

The Azure and White are battling for a place in the quarter-finals, while the Eagles are competing for pride.

Match preview

Ivan Jovanovic's Greece kicked off their Nations League campaign in excellent fashion, but have been on a slow descent as the group has progressed.

The Azure and White beat Monday's opponents 2-1 in their opener on September 24, before claiming an impressive 1-0 victory over Germany three days later.

However, that success in Augsburg was Jovanovic's side's last taste of triumph, even if following it up with a pair of home draws against the Netherlands and Die Mannschaft was commendable.

On Friday, Greece were thrashed 7-0 by Xavi's Oranje, a defeat that was not only humiliating but has put their path to the quarter-finals in jeopardy.

Monday's hosts are currently second in Group A2, level on eight points with Germany, and must match their result while hoping Jurgen Klopp's team drop points on home soil in order to finish in the top two.

Meanwhile, Veljko Paunovic's Serbia have endured a disastrous Nations League term and are already doomed to relegation to League B.

The Eagles have lost all five of their matches so far, and are without a single point to their name as a result.

Fans looking for a reason to be hopeful ahead of Monday's showdown could lean on the fact that Paunovic's side were able to score in four of those defeats, three of which were by just one goal.

On the other hand, Serbia were beaten 3-1 by Germany on Friday, falling two goals behind with just 14 minutes on the clock before having two players sent off in the second half.

That latest disappointment means the Eagles have conceded 11 times in just five games - a rate of 2.2 per match - and their leaky defence could be exploited by a motivated Greece.

Greece Nations League form:

Serbia Nations League form:

Team News

Greece are expected to be without midfielder Dimitrios Kourbelis due to an ankle injury, though Nectarios Triantis and Athanasios Androutsos should be on hand to start in the centre of the park.

Out wide, Arsenal's Christos Tzolis and Borussia Dortmund starboy Konstantinos Karetsas will be hoping to support a strike partnership of Vangelis Pavlidis and Fotis Ioannidis up top.

As for Serbia, they are missing Rangers midfielder Vanja Dragojevic and PAOK winger Andrija Zivkovic, both of whom are suspended after being sent off against Germany.

Filling the gaps, manager Paunovic could opt for Stefan Dzodic to be joined by Lazar Samardzic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in midfield.

Further forward, Mihajlo Cvetkovic is likely to partner captain and record appearance holder Dusan Tadic in attack, desperate to end a dire campaign on a positive note.

Greece possible starting lineup:

Tzolakis; Rota, Mavropanos, Retsos, Tsimikas; Karetsas, Triantis, Androutsos, Tzolis; Pavlidis, Ioannidis

Serbia possible starting lineup:

V Milinkovic-Savic; Nedeljkovic, Gudelj, Milenkovic, Babic, Sukacev; Samardzic, Dzodic, S Milinkovic-Savic; Cvetkovic, Tadic

We say: Greece 3-1 Serbia

Greece may have been hammered 7-0 by the Netherlands last time out, but that defeat came as a shock, and with a place in the quarter-finals at stake, the hosts will be motivated to bounce back.

Serbia have struggled throughout this term's Nations League, and it would be surprising to see them avoid a sixth consecutive defeat on Monday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.