Latvia vs Serbia Prediction: Vlahovic can be Eagles’ main man in Riga

The first-ever meeting between the Latvian and Serbian national football teams takes place on Saturday (14:00 BST), when they lock horns at Daugavas Stadium in Riga.

Below are my Latvia vs Serbia predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this World Cup qualifier.

Team News

Latvia defender Antonijs Cernomordijs (Riga FC) misses Saturday's qualifier due to an accumulation of yellow cards; his suspension could see Vitalijs Jagodinskis (Visakha) handed a start in the middle of their back three.

Football Odds

Kristers Tobers (Aberdeen) is unavailable due to injury.

Serbia captain Aleksandr Mitrovic, who hasn't played for club or country since hitting a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Andorra on June 10, is named in Dragan Stojkovic's squad after recently swapping Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for Qatari club Al-Rayyan.

Given he hasn't featured for nearly three months, Serbia's all-time leading goalscorer may be used from the bench on Saturday, with Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored in all three club games this season despite not starting any, likely to lead the line on his own.

Today's Football Fixtures

Fellow experienced internationals Sasa Lukic (Fulham), Filip Kostic (Juventus) and Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla) are expected to start in Riga.

Injured goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic (Al-Ittihad) misses out, as does fellow shot-stopper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Napoli), who is acclimatising to his new surroundings in Naples.

Latvia vs Serbia Odds

Latvia haven't won in Riga since beating the Faroe Islands 1-0 there last September, and the 11 Wolves are 9/1, or a 10% chance, to end their four-game wait for a home victory against Serbia, who are 1/3 to claim all three points, implying a 75% probability of success. The draw is priced at 4/1, and both teams to score at 6/5.

To Win to Nil - Serbia @ 19/20

Serbia are unbeaten in their last six matches (W2, D4), and have kept four clean sheets in their last five, including three straight shutouts heading into Saturday's game in Riga.

The Eagles are yet to concede in Group K, drawing 0-0 with Albania (A) on June 7 before beating Andorra (H) 3-0 three days later.

Latvia, meanwhile, have failed to score in half (four) of their last eight internationals, including two of their last three, which included a 3-0 defeat to England (A) in Group K. They did score in a 1-0 victory over Andorra (A) and a 1-1 draw with Albania (A), but those were two of their three easiest qualifiers, on paper at least.

There is a real lack of firepower in this Latvia squad, highlighted by the fact that their starting striker against Albania, Daejon's Vladislavs Gutkovskis, has struck just six goals in 30 K League 1 appearances since moving to South Korea in 2023.

Serbia's defence includes Nottingham Forest's Nikola Milenkovic and AC Milan's Strahinja Pavlovic, who are set to line up in front of Chelsea's Djordje Petrovic (on loan at AFC Bournemouth), and they should have no problem keeping out a blunt Latvia attack.

First Goalscorer - Dusan Vlahovic (SER) @ 7/2

Vlahovic failed to score in seven international appearances last year, and he's only found the net once in four caps this year, but with Mitrovic potentially dropped down to the bench on Saturday, he has a great chance to boost his record.

The 25-year-old endured a difficult 2024/25 campaign with Juventus, netting just 10 times in 29 Serie A outings, and he was reportedly put up for sale by the Turin club in the summer.

However, with no acceptable bid made for his services, he remains on the Old Lady's books, and he's started the season on fire.

Vlahovic scored within two minutes of his introduction against Atalanta, four minutes of his arrival against Parma, and 11 minutes after coming on against Genoa.

Evidently, he has been keen to make an instant impact, and given how quickly he has hit the ground running domestically this term, it makes a lot of sense to back him to open the scoring in Riga on Saturday.

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