Serbia vs Spain Prediction: Back the Euro 2024 Champs to Win to Nil

Spain return to the field of play on Thursday after their triumphant win at Euro 2024 with a trip to Serbia in the Nations League. The game will kick-off at 19:45 and no TV channel has been allocated as of the time of publication.

We've asked our Spanish-based La Liga Betting Expert to preview the match and he's come up with his Serbia vs Spain Predictions for us right here at Betfred Insights...

Spain play their first game since winning Euro 2024 in Belgrade on Thursday, as they take on Serbia in the UEFA Nations League. It is also the start of La Roja's title defence in this competition, after they won the last edition of the Nations League back in June 2023 with a penalty shootout victory over Croatia. 

That victory was not necessarily seen as the start of a new golden era for the Spanish national team at the time. Even after that success, Luis de la Fuente wasn't universally appreciated with many doubting his managerial credentials, but the 63-year-old has silenced all of his critics since then with some bold decisions that helped spark a glorious summer in Germany. 

His faith in midfielder Fabián Ruiz and the decision to play both Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal in an attack-minded side were key factors in Spain's deserved Euro 2024 triumph. 

In a tournament when many of the favourites failed to deliver, Spain had a clear game plan and looked like a balanced team throughout. Their run couldn't have been much tougher, with former world champions Italy, Germany, France and England all defeated as the Iberians were crowned kings of Europe for the fourth time. 

With a relatively young side, Spain are certainly capable of winning more silverware over the coming years. That process starts in the Nations League, and with Switzerland and Denmark the other sides in Group D, they'll fancy their chances of making it to the final stage again next June. 

As for Serbia, it was a considerably less satisfying summer, with Dragan Stojković's side failing to win a game at Euro 2024 as they finished bottom of Group C. They limped out of the tournament with a 0-0 draw in their final game against Denmark, managing just one attempt on target. 

Prior to that, they'd been defeated 1-0 by England and drew 1-1 against neighbours Slovenia. Luka Jović came off the bench to score a 95th minute equaliser in that game, but it was another underwhelming major tournament showing from the Serbs, who were also eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup. 

They finished the Euros as the lowest scoring team in the competition. That would have been a real frustration for many Serbian fans given they were not short on attacking options with the likes of Jović, Dušan Tadić, Aleksandar Mitrović and Dušan Vlahović to call upon at that tournament. 

Only one of those players will be involved on Thursday night though. Tadić has called time on his international career having won 111 caps, while Jović is the only one of Serbia's three main strikers to be available to face the European champions. 

This match will be the first time that Serbia have ever played in Division A of the Nations League. They were in the third tier of this competition for the inaugural 2018/19 edition, but have won two promotions since then, only losing three of their 18 previous Nations League games. 

Team News: 

Spain are missing two of their regulars from the summer, with goalkeeper Unai Simón and captain Álvaro Morata both sidelined due to injury. Simón is expected to miss all of the autumn internationals, which should see Arsenal's David Raya get a run in the side, although Real Sociedad's Álex Remiro is an alternative option. 

Mikel Merino is another notable injury absentee while key man Rodri is short on match fitness, but there is a first call-up for Valencia's Pepelu who has impressed in midfield for the Mestalla club since joining from city rivals Levante in 2023. 

As for Serbia, they've been hit by a number of injury withdrawals from this squad. The absence of strikers Vlahović and Mitrović leaves a big hole in attack, while midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić and defender Nemanja Stojić have also pulled out. 

Following the Euro 2024 exit, Stojković has looked to the future with five uncapped players called up, four of whom are teenagers. That includes Aston Villa's Kosta Nedeljković, Sunderland's Milan Aleksić and Millwall's Mihailo Ivanović. 

Serbia vs Spain Odds

Spain head into the game as the clear 4/9 favourites. You can back the Draw at 11/4 while Serbia are priced at 11/2 to make a dream start to their Nations League campaign. 

Both teams to score is on offer at 11/10, while you can back Over 2.5 goals at 10/11 or Under 2.5 goals at 4/5, depending on how you see this game panning out. 

De la Fuente will need to decide who starts up top in the absence of Morata. Euro 2024 final match winner Mikel Oyarzabal is perhaps the standout option and he's 9/2 to score first and 8/5 to score anytime. He could instead opt for Joselu, who is the 6/4 favourite to get on the scoresheet. 

Since shining at Euro 2024, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal have been reunited at Barcelona, with Nico Williams also a target for the Catalans. In-form Olmo is priced at 2/1 to score anytime here, while you can back Yamal to do likewise at 9/4 or Williams to score anytime at 13/5. 

Former Real Madrid forward Luka Jović is expected to lead the line for the hosts. He's 10/1 to score first and 18/5 to score anytime. 

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Bet 1 - Spain to win to nil @ 6/5 

There's a serious lack of obvious goal threats in this Serbian squad, given the injury problems they have up front. Aside from Jović, who himself has been far from prolific in recent years, their midfield and forward players have a combined total of just three international goals. 

It's hard to see them causing too many problems for a side as strong as Spain, and if the Euros is anything to go by, we shouldn't expect them to take too many risks. As a result, it's hard to look past a solid win for the European champions who have most of their stars available, and I'm backing Spain to win to nil at 6/5. 

Bet 2 - Spain & Under 3.5 goals @ Evens 

With a potentially tougher game to come this Sunday away against Switzerland, De la Fuente is likely to use his squad and give key players a rest in the latter stages of this game, should Spain find themselves in the ascendancy. 

There is genuine depth for him to call upon though, as we saw at Euro 2024 when they defeated Albania with a second-string eleven, but we probably shouldn't expect La Roja to run riot with away games in Belgrade rarely easy for visiting teams.  

Serbia are organised defensively and have only let in four goals in their last six matches, but Spain have so much attacking quality that they should win the game. I'm going with Spain and Under 3.5 goals at Evens for my second bet. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...