Serbia vs Portugal: Could hosts finally end hoodoo against star-studded visitors?

Topics: TV Schedules, Portugal, Serbia, World Cup Qualifiers

Portugal surprisingly found things more difficult than expected in their first World Cup 2022 qualifying match. Can they find their groove when they travel to face Serbia?

Preview: Serbia vs Portugal

Both Serbia and Portugal will be looking to maintain their respective 100 per cent winning records when they meet for matchday two of World Cup 2022 qualifiers on Saturday, March 27th. The hosts come into this match having been on the right end of a 3-2 score-line against Ireland, but EURO 2016 winners Portugal surprisingly had to labor to earn a gritty 1-0 win over minnows Azerbaijan.

Indeed, as expected, Azerbaijan parked everyone behind the ball, thus giving Fernando Santos's side over two-thirds of the ball and allowing them to take nearly 30 shots on goal. But it took a string of comedic errors at the back to finally give Portugal the breakthrough they had been battling to get, and once that happened, they were unable to get a second goal as the minnows frantically closed down even tighter in a bid to avoid the score-line getting out of control.

As such, Portugal will be looking to redeem themselves when they arrive in Belgrade on Saturday evening.

Serbia, naturally, will present much tougher opposition than Azerbaijan, but they certainly won't be throwing everyone behind the ball, either. Although the hosts have never beaten Portugal as an independent nation, they did manage to score twice the last time the two sides met in a six goal thriller. That was in 2019 for a European qualifying tie, and given that this clash is on home turf, expect Dragan Stojković's men to be eager to try to end their frustrating hoodoo against Portugal.

In addition, Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrović is now joint-tied for first as Serbia's all-time top goal-scorer with 38 goals; he'll be looking to seal that top spot for himself with a possible goal on Saturday.

Team news: Serbia vs Portugal

Serbia: Manchester United star Nemanja Matic has retired from international duty, so fans won't get to see him at the 2022 World Cup if Serbia qualify. Forward Đorđe Despotović suffered an injury and looks likely to miss out. It will be very interesting to see if Frankfurt's Luka Jovic gets to start here or has to settle for a spot on the bench after his colleague Aleksandar Mitrović enjoyed a starring role during the team's win over Ireland.

Portugal: The visitors have been dealt a blow, as defenders Raphaël Guerreiro and Pepe, as well as shot-stopper Rui Patrício suffered injuries during the win over Azerbaijan and look likely to miss this match.

Match facts: Serbia vs Portugal

Serbia have never beaten Portugal as an independent nation
In their six prior attempts their record is D3 L3
Portugal have kept a clean sheet in six of their last eight matches across all comps
In addition, they've won four of their last five games
Serbia have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four matches across all comps