Sweden vs Serbia Prediction: Attacks on top at Friends Arena

Sweden were undone by a late Christian Eriksen wondergoal on Wednesday in a 2-1 defeat to Denmark, but the Blagult have an early opportunity to bounce back from that disappointment when they play Serbia at Friends Arena on Saturday (KO, 17:00).

Ahead of this international friendly in Solna, which serves as Serbia's final warm-up game before kicking off their Euro 2024 campaign against England next Sunday, you can find out all the latest team news and match odds below in my Sweden vs Serbia prediction.

Team News

Sweden's Hjalmar Ekdal was only introduced as a half-time substitute against Denmark but was forced off within nine minutes of his introduction due to a hamstring injury, and the Burnley defender will miss out on his nation's next match.

Emil Forsberg will be looking for minutes after being left on the bench in midweek, and he could join Dejan Kulusevski and Alexander Isak - who scored on Wednesday - in attack.

Serbia's Nemanja Maksimovic suffered a clash of heads in a 2-1 defeat to Austria on Tuesday and was substituted before half-time, leaving it unlikely that he will recover in time for Saturday.

Ivan Ilic came on for the Getafe midfielder and could start in place of him against Sweden, while Aleksandar Mitrovic is set to return to the starting XI after being brought on as a substitute earlier in the week as a result of his recent involvement in the Saudi King Cup final.

Sweden vs Serbia Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Sweden vs Serbia page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Sweden are 6/4 to bounce back from Wednesday and triumph this weekend, giving them an implied win probability of 40%, while Serbia are 13/8, or a 38.1% chance, to recover in style from their own defeat.

The draw can be backed at 5/2, both teams to score at 4/7, and over 2.5 goals at 8/11.

First-half total goals - over 1.5 @ 13/8

International friendlies are often lamented for being slow burners, but that couldn't be said for Sweden's or Serbia's game earlier this week.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored inside two minutes for Denmark in Copenhagen before Isak equalised for the Swedes seven minutes later, while in Vienna, Austria struck both of their goals before the 14th minute, with Serbia's Strahinja Pavlovic netting a consolation later in the first half.

Wednesday's defeat was Jon Dahl Tomasson's third game in charge of Sweden, and in his first - a 5-2 hammering at the hands of Portugal - his side were three goals down by half-time.

The former Blackburn Rovers boss has plenty of firepower available to him, but gone are the likes of defender Olof Mellberg and goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, who marshalled the national team so superbly in the 2000's and early 2010's.

Similar could be said of Serbia, who used to have the steeliness of Nemanja Vidic at the heart of defence. Recently, they have been accused of having a soft centre, and you can see why when looking at their recent defensive statistics.

They've conceded twice in the first half of a game on two occasions already this year, first doing so in a 4-0 defeat to Russia on March 21.

They've also managed to strike before half-time several times themselves, doing so in their final five Euro 2024 qualifiers last year, the first four of which saw at least two goals scored - both teams combined - before the interval.

With Isak, Kulusevski and Mitrovic all potential starters in Solna, we could see more early goals on Saturday.

No draw & both teams to score @ 11/8

I've already alluded to the fact that I think both teams will score with the firepower available to each side, but there are a few further statistics to back up that suggestion.

Sweden have scored in nine of their last 10 internationals, with both teams finding the net in six of them, while Serbia have struck in 14 of their last 16 games, and BTTS - Yes has landed 11 times in that run.

These nations are pretty unfamiliar with stalemates, however, with just one of Sweden's last 18 matches finishing in a draw and just two of Serbia's last 15.

No draw and both teams to score on Saturday might be one to consider, then.

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