Albania and Serbia will meet in the next round of the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday, 7 June.
Will the home team manage to get three points against their bitter rivals or will Serbia resist them in an important away game? Find that out and more from our Albania vs Serbia prediction and preview.
Contents
- 1 Albania vs Serbia prediction: A close and tense contest to go to Serbia
- 2 Most recent H2Hs: Memories of their previous meetings still fresh
- 3 Albania preview: Looking for their second win in the qualifiers
- 4 Serbia preview: Hoping for a good start to the WC qualifiers
- 5 Player to watch: Aleksandar Mitrovic
Albania vs Serbia prediction: A close and tense contest to go to Serbia
Key stats
- Albania have lost four times in their last seven matches.
- We did not see both teams score in the previous two meetings between Albania and Serbia, although the second game was abandoned in the 42nd minute.
- Both teams have scored in just one of Albania's seven games in all competitions, while the same is true for just two of Serbia's last nine matches.
Correct score prediction: Albania 0-1 Serbia
While Albania enter this game after a win, it was against Andorra at home, so hardly an impressive result. Moreover, Albania were winless for three games in a row before that and they haven't been in their best form recently.
Meanwhile, Serbia have managed to beat Austria in their Nations League tie for a spot in League A and they have lost just two of their last 10 games in all competitions.
So, even though Serbia will face a truly hostile environment in Albania, we can still see them pulling off a minimal win.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Serbia the more likely winners
- HOME: 5/2 (3.50) – 28.60%
- DRAW: 21/10 (3.10) – 32.30%
- AWAY: 6/5 (2.20) – 45.50%
*Odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
It's clear from these Albania vs Serbia odds that the bookies see the guests as the expected winners, which is not too surprising looking at the recent results from both teams.
Furthermore, Serbia are 31st in the FIFA rankings, while Albania are 66th, so the quality is obviously on Serbia's side.
In any case, if you liked our predictions for this game, remember to also check our other football betting tips for today.
Most recent H2Hs: Memories of their previous meetings still fresh
This will be a match between two nations that have a history of bad blood, which often spills into sports, as we saw when these teams played against each other in the 2016 EURO qualifiers.
The first match was played in Belgrade, but it was abandoned in the 42nd minute after a drone carrying a provocative Albanian nationalist banner flew onto the pitch and chaos ensued in the standings. The win was ultimately awarded to Albania, but Serbia got their revenge in their second meeting with a 2-0 win in Albania.
Euro 2015 Qualifying 08/10/15
Albania
Serbia
Albania preview: Looking for their second win in the qualifiers
After finishing last in their UEFA Nations League B group, Albania will play in League C in the next edition of this competition, which is far from where this team wants to be. Meanwhile, Albania have already played twice in these WC qualifiers, losing away at England and beating Andorra at home.
Predicted lineup: Strakosha (GK), Hysaj, Djimsiti, Ajeti, Mitaj, Asllani, Bajrami, Uzuni, Laci, Hoxha & Manaj
Europe - World Cup Qualifying 24/03/25
W
Andorra
0
Albania
3
Europe - World Cup Qualifying 21/03/25
L
England
2
Albania
0
UEFA Nations League B 19/11/24
L
Ukraine
2
Albania
1
UEFA Nations League B 16/11/24
D
Czechia
0
Albania
0
UEFA Nations League B 14/10/24
W
Georgia
0
Albania
1
Serbia preview: Hoping for a good start to the WC qualifiers
While other teams in their group have already played a couple of matches, Serbia will only now begin their journey towards a fourth World Cup appearance as a fully independent nation. Serbia were busy elsewhere in the last international window, trying to stay in League A of the UEFA Nations League. They managed to achieve this with a 3-1 aggregate win over Austria in the playoffs.
Predrag Rajkovic, Serbia's first-choice goalkeeper, will miss this match through injury. However, Dragan Stojkovic will welcome Aleksandar Mitrovic's return to the fold after Serbia's top scorer ever missed both games against Austria with an injury.
Predicted lineup: Petrovic (GK), Milenkovic, Pavlovic, Erakovic, Zivkovic, Gudelj, Maksimovic, S. Mitrovic, Samardzic, Vlahovic & Mitrovic
UEFA Nations League 23/03/25
W
Austria
0
Serbia
2
UEFA Nations League 20/03/25
D
Austria
1
Serbia
1
UEFA Nations League A 18/11/24
D
Denmark
0
Serbia
0
UEFA Nations League A 15/11/24
D
Switzerland
1
Serbia
1
UEFA Nations League A 15/10/24
L
Spain
3
Serbia
0
Player to watch: Aleksandar Mitrovic
After sitting out both ties against Austria in the UEFA Nations League playoffs, Serbia's captain and best-ever scorer will return to the fold as he looks to lead his team to an important win over Albania.
With 59 goals in 98 appearances for Serbia, Mitrovic has been sensational whenever he puts on the Serbian jersey and we don't see why this time would be any different.