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

Both Montenegro and Serbia will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins at the start of their respective Euro 2024 qualification campaigns when they lock horns on Monday night.

Montenegro began their Group G campaign with a 1-0 victory over Bulgaria on Friday, while Serbia were 2-0 winners over Lithuania in their section opener.

Match preview

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Montenegro made the perfect star to their Group G campaign on Friday, beating Bulgaria 1-0 in Razgrad, with Nikola Krstovic netting the only goal of the contest in the 70th minute.

The Brave Falcons have never qualified for the finals of a major international tournament, which is an indication of the size of their task when it comes to advancing to Euro 2024.

Miodrag Radulovic's side will be bidding to make it successive wins in the section before returning to action in June, welcoming Hungary in their third game in the group.

Montenegro have met Serbia on two previous occasions, with both games taking place in the UEFA Nations League back in 2018, and Serbia were 2-0 winners away before recording a 2-1 victory in the reverse game one month later.

The Brave Falcons had actually been on a four-game winless run ahead of their clash with Bulgaria on Friday, so the victory will have undoubtedly boosted confidence in the camp.

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Serbia, as mentioned, were also winners in their section opener, beating Lithuania 2-0, with Dusan Tadic making the breakthrough in the 16th minute before Dusan Vlahovic doubled the advantage early in the second period.

Dragan Stojkovic's side will fancy their chances of topping a section that also includes Hungary, and another victory on Monday would be another positive step in the right direction.

The Eagles have not been present in any of the last four European Championships, but they have played at the last two World Cups, being eliminated in the group stage on both occasions.

In Qatar, Serbia picked up just one point from their three group games, which saw them eliminated in the first round, with Brazil and Switzerland both progressing from Group G.

Stojkovic's team also beat USA in a friendly at the end of January, so they will go in search of their third straight victory in Monday night's affair.

Team News

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Montenegro are expected to be without the services of Vladimir Jovovic, who was forced off after entering the field as a second-half substitute against Bulgaria.

However, the national side have not reported any issues to their first XI, so it would not be a surprise to see head coach Radulovic select the same team for this contest.

Stevan Jovetic is pushing to be involved in the starting side, but the 33-year-old, who has 31 goals for his country, could again be among the substitutes for the first whistle.

Serbia, meanwhile, have no fresh injury concerns from their victory over Lithuania, so it is expected to be largely the same starting XI for Monday's affair with Montenegro.

There could be a change in central midfield, though, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic potentially being introduced.

Aleksandar Mitrovic is facing a lengthy ban for Fulham following his red card against Manchester United in the FA Cup last time out, but he will again lead the line for the visitors here.

Vlahovic, meanwhile, will also feature in a forward area, with the 23-year-old looking to add to the goal that he scored against Lithuania on Friday.

Montenegro possible starting lineup:
Mijatovic; Vesovic, Savic, Vujacic, Radunovic; Savicevic, Scekic, Bakic; Marusic, Krstovic, Haksabanovic

Serbia possible starting lineup:
V Milinkovic-Savic; Erakovic, Gudelj, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, Grujic, S Milinkovic-Savic, Kostic; Tadic, Mitrovic, Vlahovic

We say: Montenegro 1-1 Serbia

Serbia will be the favourites on Monday, but we are finding it difficult to separate the two teams in this contest. It would not be a shock to see an away or indeed a home victory, but a draw is a decent result for both sides, and we are predicting a stalemate in this Euro 2024 qualification fixture.

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

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