Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Buoyed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sweden, Serbia will look to overtake Norway in top position in Group 4 when they take on Slovenia in Ljubljana. Dragan Stojkovic rested Filip Kostic and Aleksandar Mitrovic in the third group game, but the duo is widely expected to start against Slovenia. Defender Stefan Mitrovic should replace Strahinja Pavlovic in the starting XI, while Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic has been ruled out with injury.
The Slovenians, on the other hand, did well to hold Erling Haland and Co. to a goalless draw on Thursday evening, but they will have a much bigger fish to fry against the Eagles. Josip Ilicic remains on the sidelines, and seeing that defender Miha Blazic is banned for the match, we are tempted to put our money on the Serbs. Towering striker Andraz Sporar is widely expected to return to the starting XI.
Highlighted Player (Andraz Sporar):
Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia on February 27, 1994, Andraz Sporar is a striker who plays for Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava. Sporar spent his youth career at the likes of Olimpija, MNK Ljubljana and Interblock and he continued playing for the last mentioned club at senior level.
After scoring 10 goals in 21 appearances for the club, the Slovenian attacker moved to his hometown club Olimpija Ljubljana where he earned the captaincy. Andraz Sporar was scoring goals for fun in the Slovenian top flight, netting 46 goals in 95 appearances in the league, but he then decided to take a step forward in his career.
In the 2015/2016 season he moved to Swiss outfit Basel, but he made no more than 19 appearances in the league for the RotBlau. During his spell with Basel Sporar played for Arminia Bielefeld on loan as well and in the winter of 2018 he joined Slovan Bratislava. Speaking of his international career, he made his debut with Slovenia in November 2016 against Malta.
Highlighted Team (Serbia):
Serbia have been playing as an independent nation since 2006. The Serbs made it to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals and despite defeating star-studded Germany in the group stages of the showpiece tournament in South Africa, they eventually failed to book their place in the last 16. The Eagles, though, failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as they experienced all sorts of problems in their qualifying group.
A number of top-class footballers played for Serbia and former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is regarded as one of the best players in the history of the Serbian national team. Vidic scored two goals in 56 appearances for Serbia and he announced his retirement from the national team on 24 October, 2011.
The Eagles play their home game at Stadion Rajko Mitic and it has to be noted that they defeated Czech Republic 3-1 in their first international game under the name of Serbia. Serbia play their home games in red shirts and red shorts, while the colour of their away kit is white.