Moldova vs Serbia Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Moldova are the perennial whipping boys in World Cup and European Championship qualification, and not many are expecting this time round to be any different. They finished bottom of Euro 2016 qualifying with just two points from their ten games, drawing against Russia and Liechtenstein and losing all of the other eight.

World Cup 2018 qualification didn’t start with any more promise, as they fell to a convincing 4-0 defeat at Wales, to instantly put them on the back foot. This was their 15th defeat in their last 21 outings, with four draws and a single victory against fellow minnows Andorra making up the rest of the results.

This single victory was away from home as well, and their home record is even worse, with eight defeats and three draws in their last 11 outings. They generally don’t get hammered at home, but they have conceded at least two goals in seven of these 11 games.

Serbia’s team has a lot of quality in it, with top players such as Branislav Ivanovic and Aleksandar Kolarov in the back line and a formidable midfield of Nemanja Matic, Dusan Tadic, Zoran Tosic, and Lazar Markovic. Aleksander Mitrovic leads the line as well, so there is a lot of potential for a good run for them.

This wasn’t the case in Euro 2016 qualifying though, as they finished 4th in their group, with just four points from eight games. This included a three point deduction, but even with that added on it was still a shocking performance from such a talented group of players.

Serbia started to pick up the pace in the friendlies this summer though. They beat Estonia, Cyprus, and Israel before drawing against Russia in the build up to Euro 2016. Their World Cup qualifying campaign began with a 2-2 draw at home to Republic of Ireland, with Dusan Tadic providing a goal and an assist in that game.

They do have a tough group to contend with though, as Republic of Ireland, Austria, and Wales will all be competing for the top spot in the group. They will need to put in a much better performance than they have managed over the last couple of years.

Moldova have managed to score in seven of their last 11 home games despite not winning any of them, and Serbia have kept just three clean sheets in their last 13 away games and just one in their last eight at home and away. This makes odds of 13/8 for Both Teams to Score look incredibly good value, so I’m backing that along with a 2-1 win for Serbia at 8/1.