International Friendly: Saturday Night in Solna for the Swedes and the Serbs

Sweden vs Serbia

Saturday night in Solna in early June for an international friendly sounds very delectable – even for those who are not particularly football fans.

More of an end-of-season contest rather than a competitive affair you may think bit that will not be the case.

These two nations both want to secure a confidence-boosting win, even if their 2024 objectives are very different.

 

Talking Points

Immediately though, both Sweden and Serbia will be looking to bounce back from midweek friendly defeats.

Sweden went down 2-1 to their neighbours Denmark, thanks to a Christian Eriksen masterclass.

Their Danish coach Jon Dahl Tomasson was actually inducted into the Danish football Hall of Fame before kick-off but that proved to be the highpoint of his evening as Alexander Isak’s goal was not enough to prevent a defeat.

Meanwhile, Serbia went down by the same scoreline against fellow Euro 2024 compatriots Austria, despite a goal from Strahinja Pavlovic.

While Sweden do not have a summer of international football to look ahead to, the inconsistency currently displayed by Serbia – paired with England, Slovenia and Denmark in Group C at Euro 2024 – will concern boss Dragan Stojkovic.

Defeat in Vienna prolonged an alarming spell of ups and downs which has seen his team win just three times in their last 10 matches.

To be more positive, they have not suffered back-to-back defeats during that period.

Stojkovic also had to contend with a potential blow in midweek when Nemanja Maksimovic was taken off following a clash of heads.

Sasa Lukic, Lazar Samardzic and Ivan Ilic are all battling to step in for their stricken teammate.

In attack, their main man is the prolific Aleksandar Mitrovic but they also have Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic. That is a frontline pairing, if Stojkovic opts for a duo to spearhead the attack, which could trouble any backline the world over.

Sweden, who are on a four-game winning streak on home turf, have an injury issue of their own as defender Hjalmar Ekdal came on as a half-time substitute in Denmark but only lasted eight minutes before being stretchered off with a hamstring problem.

Tomasson, hoping to oversee a rebuild and new chapter of Swedish football with improved fortunes, will no doubt use this final fixture before the summer break as an opportunity for the Scandinavians to boost confidence ahead of September.

That is when they will begin their latest Nations League campaign, seeking promotion after dropping down to a League C section which comprises Slovakia, Azerbaijan and frequent foes Estonia.

For Serbia, the focus is more current – a major tournament starting in a week’s time.

Sweden is their last warm-up encounter and they will want to head to Germany in the best shape possible.

 

History

Serbia have won three of their four meetings with Sweden, all of which have come since 2009.

The first came in the April of that year in Belgrade when Nikola Zigić and Boško Janković scored the goals in a 2-0 win.

Sweden ran out 2-1 victors three years later on home soil when Ola Toivonen and a Zlatan Ibrahimović penalty won the day for the hosts.

Both of those contests were friendlies.

The two meetings since then have both been in the Nations League and have gone the way of Serbia.

A Luka Jovic goal separated the sides in June 2022 before Serbia won the return game 4-1 on home soil three months later.

A Mitrovic hat-trick did the damage with Saša Lukić netting the other after Viktor Claesson had briefly given the Swedes the lead.

 

Betting Tip

Who do you think will deliver international friendly highlights?

Well, I can’t recall the SBOTOP international friendly betting odds ever being closer.

Close yes, but not as close as Sweden 1X2 @ 2.42 or Serbia 1X2 @ 2.43.

As for First Half 1X2, that has them level pegging, both priced @ 2.95, while it’s the same with Asian Handicap and First Half Asian Handicap as both nations are tipped 0.00 @ 1.88.

Sweden or Serbia then?

While I’m not expecting a repeat of their last meeting, although for the record another 4-1 Serbia win will be worth @ 70.00 with Correct Score, I think there will be a few goals.

Over 2.50 @ 1.78 suggests this won’t be a stalemate, while other goal bets to consider are Total Goal 0-1 @ 3.61, 2-3 @ 1.93 and 4-6 @ 3.09.

I am going to plump for honours even in the Friends Arena in Solna on Saturday and my *** tip is 1X2 Draw @ 3.17.

   

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