World Cup – Portugal vs Serbia: Betting Preview

In what is effectively a final for an automatic spot in the 2022 World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal square off against Serbia.

Sunday night’s clash in Lisbon is huge for both teams. They are level on 17 points at the top of the Group A table. As Portugal are ahead of Serbia due to a superior goal difference, all they need to do is avoid defeat to finish as group winners and qualify for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Our tip

Facts and figures for Portugal vs Serbia in World Cup.

• Portugal unbeaten the last 7 matches in a row;
• Portugal has won the last 4 matches in a row at home;
• Portugal unbeaten the last 24 matches in a row at home;
• Portugal has won in the last 4 of 5 matches.

• Serbia unbeaten the last 7 matches in a row;
• Serbia unbeaten the last 4 matches in a row when playing away;
• Serbia has won in the last 4 of 5 matches;
• Serbia scored in the last 24 of 26 matches.

Current form — Portugal vs Serbia

The Navigators are on a roll.

Portugal seem in good shape right now after extending their unbeaten run to six matches across all competitions. Fernando Santos’ side look well suited to take on any opponent at the moment, as their last 3 matches saw them gain 7 points. They ran out 3-0 and 5-0 winners against Qatar and Luxembourg respectively. Their winning streak came to an end against Ireland last time out in a 0-0 draw.

The Eagles are in nice flow

Serbia have found a rich vein of form in recent weeks, and aim to keep their winning streak going. In their last 3 matches, Dragan Stojković’s side beat Luxembourg 1-0 before overcoming Azerbaijan 3-1. They thrashed Qatar 4-0 in their last outing.

Portugal vs Serbia — fixture history

It finished all square on when these teams last locked horns in a World Cup qualifier. With both denying to back down the scoreboard said 2-2 in the end.

In the last 7 meetings of these teams, an advantage was formed on the side of Portugal, and these matches were also remembered for the many goals.

Current table in the World Cup

Top goalscorer

Looking at the goalscorer market, it would seem a good idea to side with Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugal captain has scored 12 goals in his last 9 internationals. He has also scored the first goal in 3 of Portugal’s last 4 home games.

As for Serbia, Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic make a deadly pair and could start alongside each other for this match.