Bulgaria vs Serbia preview
As Euro 2024 qualifiers Bulgaria vs Serbia Preview is online, as Bulgaria host Serbia in the group I at Huvepharma Arena on June 21, 2023.
The match with Lithuania concluded with a tie which was disappointing for Mladen Krstajic, whereas Serbia retained top spot despite not playing over the weekend. Even though Justas Lasickas was dismissed for a professional foul after 17 minutes, Bulgaria could only find an equalizer against Lithuania.
Marin Petkov levelled for the away side just before the half-hour mark after Edvinas Girdvainis’s 15th minute opens where putting the hosts in 1-0 up. The chances were limited for Krstajic’s men, who had to shoot from far out when they could not find a way past Lithuania’s defence.
The result leaves them with one point from a possible nine, bottom of Group I and undoubtedly facing an uphill task of playing at next year’s European championship. Turkey had victory over Wales with 2-0 as they had clashings on Euro 2024 on June 20, 2023.
With goalscoring a bugbear Bulgaria have scored once in three matches in qualifying it remains to be seen how they get past a Serbia side without a goal conceded in their opening two games. England had victory over North Macedonia with 7-0 on Euro 2024 qualifiers on June 20, 2023.
As for the visiting side, they could have been joint-top of the group had Hungary or Montenegro won on Saturday, but a 1-1 draw between the pair leaves Dragan Stojkovic‘s men two points clear, having played a game fewer than the Montenegrins.
A pair of 2-0 victories to start qualifying in March has put the Eagles in the driving seat ahead of their third game, and maximum points against the section’s bottom side seems likely. Kazakhstan had victory over Northern Ireland as they had clashing on Euro 2024 qualifiers on monday meetings.
Despite his mixed campaign with Juventus, Dusan Vlahovic has netted three of the away side’s four goals, with Dusan Tadic scoring the other, and the centre-forward could play a pivotal role in Tuesday’s result.
Team News and Injury
Krstajic is not expected to alter his approach from the 5-4-1 utilised in Lithuania, even if the manager may consider personnel tweaks.
There might be some temptation to start Georgi Rusev for the first time in qualifying after his commendable cameo on Saturday, although dropping Kiril Despodov will not be an easy call.
Daniel Naumov lost his spot between the sticks to Ivan Dyulgerov, and it remains to be seen if Bulgaria retains the custodian on Tuesday.
Stojkovic is anticipated to continue with the 3-4-2-1 hitherto utilised in qualifying, although the manager tends to make changes due to the options at his disposal.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is expected to start in central midfield or further forward as one of the number 10s along with Tadic.
That call would affect Vlahovic’s chances of starting, especially as Stojkovic favours Aleksandar Mitrovic as his central striker.
Head-to-Head stats
This will be the third meeting between the two teams, with the Eagles winning their previous two.
They first met in November 2008, where Serbia stormed to an emphatic 6-1 win at the Partizan Stadium, before picking up a 1-0 win in November 2010.
Bulgaria are on a four-game winless run across competitions, losing twice since a 2-0 friendly win over Cyprus in November 2022.
Serbia have won their last four outings, scoring nine goals and keeping two clean sheets since losing 3-2 against Switzerland in the World Cup.
Bulgaria vs Serbia prediction
Bulgaria will be looking to get back up and get their qualifying campaign, they are opt to face full confident Serbia side waiting for the victory. The Eagles should maintain their fine results to reach more heights on Euro 2024 championships.
