Serbia vs Albania Prediction: Big score unlikely in Leskovac

One of Saturday's most intriguing Uefa World Cup qualifiers takes place at Stadion Dubocica in Leskovac, where Serbia and Albania will do battle in Group K. There's a long history of tension between the two nations, so expect fireworks this weekend (19:45 BST).

Below are my Serbia vs Albania predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Napoli, on loan from Torino) and midfielder Sasa Lukic (Fulham), who was also suspended for the visit of Albania, are both out injured for Serbia, who have named six uncapped players in their squad, including 18-year-old defender Veljko Milosavljevic (AFC Bournemouth) and forward Andrej Ilic (Union Berlin).

Dragan Stojkovic can lean on the experience of Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al-Rayyan), Filip Kostic (Juventus) and Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla), as well as striker Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), who scored their only goal last month in a 1-0 victory over Latvia in Riga.

Nikola Milenkovic (Nottingham Forest) is suspended on Saturday after receiving a red card in last month's 3-0 loss to England, so Milos Veljkovic (Red Star Belgrade) could replace him in the starting XI.

Football Odds

Albania head coach Sylvinho can count on plenty of experience himself, with defenders Elseid Hysaj (Lazio) and Berat Djimsiti (Atalanta), capped 92 and 65 times, respectively, named in the Red and Blacks' squad for their WCQ against Serbia and friendly against Jordan.

However, centre-back Marash Kumbulla (Real Mallorca, on loan from AS Roma) and midfielder Adrion Pajaziti (Hadjuk Split) are both injured.

Today's Football Fixtures

Serbia vs Albania Odds

Serbia are 8/11 to return to winning ways on Saturday, implying a 57.9% probability of success, while Albania are 9/2, or an 18.2% chance, to record a third consecutive win, following last month's 1-0 friendly victory over Gibraltar and the 1-0 World Cup qualifier triumph at home to Latvia five days later.

The draw is priced at 5/2, both teams to score at 6/5, and over 2.5 total goals at 5/4.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 2.5 - Serbia & Under 2.5 @ 21/10

The two previous completed games between Serbia and Albania - the first was abandoned with the score at 0-0, and a 3-0 win awarded to Albania - have finished with two or fewer goals. Serbia won 2-0 in Elbasani in October 2015, and nearly 10 years later, in June 2025, the two countries ground out a goalless draw in Tirana.

Saturday’s reverse fixture at Stadion Dubocica in Leskovac might not see many goals, either.

Nine of Albania’s last 11 matches, including three of their last four, have gone under 2.5 goals, while 12 of Serbia’s last 15 have produced two or fewer strikes, so prepare for another cagey contest in Serbia on Saturday.

Serbia, with better players and home advantage, start the game as favourites to win, although the absences of Milenkovic and Lukic harm their chances of claiming all three points.

Still, I think there is enough quality within their ranks to pick up a vital victory in Leskovac, with the likes of Mitrovic, who has scored in three of his last four club appearances, and Lazar Samardzic, who has notched in Atalanta's last two games, potentially utilised as super subs.

Player to Receive a Card - Nemanja Gudelj (SER) @ 11/5

With Lukic missing from Serbia's midfield this month, head coach Stojkovic could start 33-year-old Gudelj against Albania and Andorra.

The Sevilla stalwart was an unused substitute against England, having only appeared for the final 22 minutes or so in Latvia, but he has been receiving more game time for his club, starting three of their last five matches.

Gudelj, who has picked up 44 yellows in 169 La Liga appearances for Los Nervionenses since switching from Sporting CP in the summer of 2019, averages a booking every 3.84 games in the Spanish top flight. He's been cautioned in his last two Sevilla outings, a 2-1 defeat to Villarreal and a 4-1 victory over FC Barcelona; in the latter, he was only brought on in the 61st minute.

The Belgrade-born No. 6 committed three fouls in his last start for Serbia, the 3-0 win against Andorra on June 10, when he was taken off just after the hour mark.

On Saturday, he could be in a midfield battle with Albania's Kristjan Asllani, who has been fouled 14 times across five Group K appearances, averaging 2.8 fouls won per game in this qualification campaign.

Latvia's Dario Sits and Andorra's Cucu have both been booked for taking down the Inter man, who is on a season-long loan at Serie A rivals Lazio, and against Serbia in June, he was upended three times.

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