Serbia will be missing several key players, including their captain and all-time top goalscorer, Aleksandar Mitrović. Dusan Tadic will also miss out, after announcing his international retirement. That came after a dispute with Serbia manager Dragan Stojkovic at Euro 2024. Dusan Vlahovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will also not feature in this fixture.

This situation puts Serbia manager Dragan Stojković in a difficult position, as he is missing a lot of senior players, who featured regularly at Euro 2024.

Serbia finished bottom of Group C at the Euros, with a dismal record of one defeat against England, before consecutive draws against Slovenia and Denmark.

Serbia scored just one goal in three games in the competition, creating just 0.76 xG per game. Only Scotland created less.

Spain, on the other hand, come into this match in strong form following their success at the European Championship. They are also the current title holders of the Nations League, so will be looking to start strong in their defence of the crown.

With the absence of key forwards like Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic, Serbia will be relying on Luka Jovic to lead their attack in the upcoming match against Spain.

Jovic, who has often been used as an impact substitute rather than a regular starter, should see a more prominent role in the starting XI, given how he is the most senior attacker.

The AC Milan striker scored Serbia’s only goal at the Euros.

Jovic made 23 Serie A appearances last season, but started only eight of those games. Despite his limited minutes, he demonstrated remarkable efficiency in front of goal, scoring six times from just 22 shots. This gave him a shot accuracy of 59%, making him one of the most efficient strikers in the league in terms of converting chances.

With an increased responsibility leading the line, Jovic is one to watch here. He will likely be the allocated penalty-taker.

Robin Le Normand committed the most fouls for Spain at the Euros, committing a foul in five out of six games – only failing to do so in the final against England.

Le Normand gave away an average of 1.5 fouls per game in the tournament.

The defender received a yellow card in Spain’s group stage match against Italy, and then another in the high-stakes quarter-final clash against Germany. These bookings resulted in a suspension that forced him to miss Spain’s crucial semi-final encounter against France.

The tactical system of Luis de la Fuente often leaves both centre backs quite exposed. Spain’s style of play, which emphasises possession and pressing high up the pitch, typically means Le Normand was isolated against the opposition striker.

Only Álvaro Morata committed more fouls than Le Normand during Euro 2024.

Le Normand played an important role for Spain throughout the tournament and was a mainstay in the XI. With Spain looking to play aggressive and expansive, he might once again be exposed in Belgrade.

With Álvaro Morata sidelined due to injury, Mikel Oyarzabal will be vying for the starting role as Spain’s leading striker. Joselu is another candidate for the spot, although the 34-year-old has played in Qatar this season.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored the most recent goal for Spain, which won Spain the Euro 2024 title.

Oyarzabal had limited opportunities during Euro 2024, starting just one match. Despite his reduced time on the pitch he managed 2.74 shots per 90.

In this upcoming match against Serbia, Oyarzabal can expect plenty of service from the flanks, with talented wingers like Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams likely to be feeding him with crosses into the box. If Oyarzabal features centrally, he should be the target in Belgrade.

The Spaniard scored nine goals for Real Sociedad last season, with two from the penalty spot. He could also be in contention to take penalties in this game.

Lamine Yamal registered four assists at Euro 2024, which was the most in the competition. Notable performances from the 17-year-old earned him the Young Player of the Tournament award.

He managed an assist against Croatia in the group stages, Georgia, Germany and memorably England in the final.

Despite featuring for just 30 minutes in pre-season, Yamal has continued his great form in La Liga. He has registered four assists in four games under Hansi Flick.

Since returning from his summer break, Yamal has been one of the most important players under Hansi Flick, featuring on average 89 minutes per game, making an appearance in the La Liga Team of the Week on three out of four occasions.

In his most recent game, Yamal created three big chances leading to two assists, as Barcelona cruised past Real Valladolid with a 7-0 victory.

His influence on this Spanish side is just as large, so backing him to register an assist at 3.75 looks great value.

In Serbia’s final game of Euro 2024 against Denmark, Dusan Tadic was left on the bench, with Lazar Samardzic starting in his place. Given that Tadic will miss this upcoming game against Spain, Samardzic seems likely to start in an advanced midfield role, just behind Luka Jovic.

Samardzic completed a move to Atalanta over the summer, and has managed five shots in his first two games, averaging 3.88 shots per 90.

His willingness to shoot was apparent during his time at Udinese, as he averaged 2.16 shots per 90, scoring six goals in the season. The majority of his shots come from outside the box, and he will be a candidate to take free kicks.

Chances against Spain will be few and far between, which makes it favourable to target players who shoot from distance, or set pieces.

Spain conceded an average of 10.71 shots per game at the Euros.

Predrag Rajković is likely to take up the role of Serbia’s starting goalkeeper once again, continuing his duties from Euro 2024. During the tournament, Rajković made three saves against both Slovenia and Denmark.

In the match against England, Rajković was still called into action twice despite England registering just five attempts in total.

On average, goalkeepers facing Spain made 4.14 saves per game, with at least three saves recorded in four of Spain’s seven matches during the tournament.

Three or more opposition goalkeeper saves landed against Italy, Georgia, Germany and England.

Spain registered 16.64 shots per game at the Euros, which was only bettered by Germany (17.44). Spain also managed an average of 5.86 shots on target per 90.

Given that the only person seemingly unavailable for this game will be Alvaro Morata, similarly high standards are expected from the Spanish.

A feature of Spain at Euro 2024, was their aggressive man-to-man press, which often saw them press intensely from the front. It was a key element of their tactical approach, with Luis de la Fuente aiming to force turnovers, and sustain pressure.

A by-product of such an approach, was a high number of fouls committed.

Spain were guilty of committing ten or more fouls in six of their seven matches at the Euros. In most games, they went significantly over this line, notably with 17 fouls against both Germany and Italy, 15 fouls against Albania and 14 infringements v Croatia.

On average, Spain racked up 13.4 fouls per game during the tournament, underscoring their physical approach to sustaining pressure.

La Roja only failed against France, although they still came close, committing nine fouls. That game was extremely cagey and passive, as France seemed content without the ball.

During their Euro 2024 campaign, Serbia managed to draw at least ten fouls in their matches against both Denmark and Slovenia. In their opening clash with England, Serbia were able to draw eight fouls.