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Brazil vs Serbia: Prediction, team news, Injury Update and Possible Lineup.
The World Cup favourites and one of the most highly fancied dark horses go head to head in their opening match in Qatar with Brazil opening their tournament against Serbia.
Brazil, as is typically the case, enters the tournament as the bookies’ favourite, has been in fantastic form and fielding an incredibly powerful squad that is projected to stroll past Group G.
Their first match, however, will not be simple, as Serbia’s class of 2022 is their most talented in a long time.
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Team News:
With Antony, Bruno Guimaraes, and Alex Telles all recovering from minor issues, Brazil manager Tite is expected to have a fully healthy squad available for Thursday’s match.
The Selecao may choose a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 configuration, with captain Thiago Silva starting in the back four alongside Danilo, Marquinhos, and Alex Sandro, protecting starting goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
The two most likely contenders to start in central midfield are Casemiro and Lucas Paqueta, while star player Neymar could play on either side of wings Raphinha and Vinicius Junior in the number 10 position.
Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur, who overcame a calf issue in time for the World Cup, is expected to replace Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal as the line leader.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic, who sustained an ankle injury, is anticipated to start on the bench as a replacement for Serbia, with Luka Jovic likely to start alongside Dusan Vlahovic up front.
After starting with four defenders in the 5-1 friendly victory over Bahrain last week, Stojkovic is planning to switch to a three-man defence, with Strahinja Pavlovic aiming to join Nikola Milenkovic and Stefan Mitrovic at centre-back.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, despite having only seven caps for the national team, is anticipated to start in goal ahead of Marko Dmitrovic and Predrag Rajkovic, therefore all three defenders may be charged with protecting him.
Nemanja Gudelj of Sevilla and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic of Lazio are expected to start together in central midfield. Andrija Zivkovic and Filip Kostic will provide breadth as wingbacks, and captain Dusan Tadic will likely start in the number 10 position.
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Potential Lineup :
Brazil’s possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Danilo, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Sandro; Casemiro, Paqueta; Raphinha, Neymar, Vinicius Jr; Richarlison
Serbia’s possible starting lineup:
V. Milinkovic-Savic; Milenkovic, S. Mitrovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, Gudelj, S. Milinkovic-Savic, Kostic; Tadic; Vlahovic, Jovic
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Brazil vs Serbia Score Prediction:
Brazil and Serbia will both want to make sure they win their first game since Switzerland will undoubtedly present both teams with a test.
Given that, it might end up being a rather cautious match, with both teams starting out being cautious.
Given this, Brazil should have enough strong individuals in their ranks to defeat Serbia’s danger, but perhaps not by the margin most people would anticipate.
Prediction: Brazil 3-1 Serbia