Russia vs Serbia Predictions

• Serbia scored in 27 of their last 31 matches.
• Both teams scored in eight of Serbia’s last nine competitive games.
• Russia hit the net in 100% of their last 10 fixtures.

Goals at either end anticipated

Russia enjoyed a fine European Championships qualification campaign last year, winning eight of their 10 games en-route to finishing second behind a Belgium team that cruised through the section with a perfect record.

The Russians managed to score in 100% of their 10 games in what was a noticeably weak section aside from their Belgian conquerors, though their 3.3 goals per game average was impressive nonetheless.

Serbia weren’t quite as lucky as Russia with their draw, eventually finishing third behind Ukraine and Portugal in a frustrating season that saw both teams score in seven of their eight keenly contested matches.

The Serbians are a routinely difficult team to keep off the scoresheet in general, as evidenced by their record of scoring in 27 of their last 31 international assignments. We expect Serbia to register again in the Russian capital this week, though their run of conceding in each of their last 10 competitive games suggests a clean sheet is unlikely.

With that considered, the both teams to score market looks generously priced for Thursday’s encounter, while our correct score prediction points towards a 1-1 draw.

Russia and Serbia finished level at that score in their last two meetings, while Serbia’s successive 1-1 draws in Germany and Portugal last year highlight an ability to avoid defeat in tricky away tests.