Nati opponents under the microscope – Serbia: holes in the defense, additional trump card in the storm? – Sports

What are Swiss opponents Serbia worried about before the Nations League duel? Journalist Nebojsa Markovic explains.

Before the Nations League duel with Switzerland in Zurich, Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic has similar concerns as Nati coach Murat Yakin when it comes to the back line.

In the last game against Spain, two defenders received suspensions. Strahinja Erakovic from Zenit St. Petersburg saw the second yellow card, Strahinja Pavlovic from AC Milan was even sent off with a red card. Of the three-man defense chain with which Serbia played all games in the Nations League, only Nikola Milenkovic (Nottingham Forest) remains on Friday.

Vlahovic is back – is he playing too?

Serbia is also missing its regular goalkeeper, Predrag Rajkovic (Al-Ittihad), who saved a penalty from Breel Embolo in the 2-0 win in Leskovac in October. He is said to be suffering from hip problems. «There will be changes in the team. Stojkovic has not yet said whether he wants to stick to the three-man chain or switch to a four-man chain,” says Serbian journalist Nebojsa Markovic in an interview with SRF.

Compared to the last showdown with the national team, Stojkovic can again count on Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, who was missing in September and October at his own request. “When he’s there, it’s always interesting,” says Markovic.

The question is whether Stojkovic will find a place in the starting line-up for both Vlahovic and record goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic. At the European Championships in Germany, where Serbia were eliminated in the group stage without a win, the coach tried Vlahovic in a more withdrawn role, which he didn’t necessarily like and led to disagreements.

Stojkovic is more firmly in the saddle again

After the long-awaited victory over Switzerland, the ongoing criticism of Stojkovic has weakened somewhat. “Now we have three points ahead of Switzerland before the last two games,” says Markovic. «Stojkovic survived the failure at the EURO, that was the main thing. The success over Switzerland has now helped him. I think he will stay until at least the end of the World Cup qualification.”