Serbia and Lithuania kick off their Euro 2024 qualification campaign when they meet at the Rajko Mitic Stadium on Friday night.

It is the first competitive meeting between the two nations since October 2019, when Friday's hosts ran out 2-1 winners after a brace from Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Match preview

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Serbia have enjoyed very little success trying to qualify for the Euros in the past, most recently falling short in the playoff match, losing against Scotland after a penalty shootout, with Mitrovic missing the vital fifth kick.

However, there was to be redemption for the striker, scoring a vital last-minute against Portugal to secure the Eagles' spot at the 2022 World Cup, eventually finishing three points ahead of their opponents in Group A.

It was not to be for Dragan Stojkovic's side out in Qatar, finishing bottom of their group after picking up just one point in three games, although they did face tough opponents, coming up against Brazil, Switzerland and Cameroon.

There were, on the other hand, positive signs for Serbia in the UEFA Nations League, winning promotion to League A after topping a group including Norway, Sweden and Slovenia, picking up 13 points from their six matches.

The Eagles have only had one outing since the World Cup, but it was successful, defeating the USA 2-1 away in Los Angeles back in January, with Luka Ilic and Veljko Simic getting on the scoresheet.

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Lithuania have never played at the Euros, despite taking part in seven qualification campaigns as an independent country, most recently finishing bottom of a very tough group, including Ukraine, Portugal, Serbia and Luxembourg.

It was the same story in World Cup qualifiers for Rinktine, struggling to compete against the likes of Switzerland and reigning European champions Italy, and picking up just three points, courtesy of a 3-1 victory against Bulgaria.

After another poor showing in the Nations League, Edgaras Jankauskas's side have now lost eight of their last nine games in all competitions, with their most recent win coming against minnows San Marino, although it was not easy, scraping to a 2-1 victory.

Last time out, Lithuania lost 2-0 in the Baltic Cup third-place playoff match against Estonia, having been defeated by Iceland in the semi-final, which does not bode well heading into a match against much tougher opposition in Serbia.

Team News

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Serbia are set to be without striker Nikola Stulic, who is suffering with an ankle issue, while Luka Jovic is not expected to return until the end of March, so Mitrovic is likely to partner Dusan Vlahovic in attack.

Milos Veljkovic missed Werder Bremen's last game with a calf injury, so Nikola Milenkovic, Strahinja Pavlovic and Srdjan Babic could get the nod at centre-back.

After the disappointing showing in the Baltic Cup, Jankauskas could look to make a few changes to his Lithuania side, with Fedor Cernych returning in attack, most likely leading the line as a lone striker.

Saulius Mikoliunas is the most-capped player in the squad, appearing 101 times for his country since debuting in 2004, and he could return at right-back, while Arvydas Novikovas is likely to return at left wing.

Serbia possible starting lineup:
V. Milinkovic-Savic; Milenkovic, Veljkovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, Lukic, S. Milinkovic-Savic, Kostic, Tadic; Mitrovic, Vlahovic

Lithuania possible starting lineup:
Gertmonas; Mikoliunas, Satkus, Slivka, Girdvainis, Barauskas; Novikovas, Vorobjovas, Simkus, Golubickas; Cernych

We say: Serbia 5-0 Lithuania

Serbia should be able to kick off their qualification campaign with a comfortable victory, and given the disparity between the two sides, it is more likely to be a question of how many they can win by.

With the likes of Mitrovic and Vlahovic to choose from in attack, it would not be a surprise to see the Eagles rack up a victory by a sizeable margin.

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

Written by
Dominic Lund

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