World Cup favourites Brazil will be looking to kickstart their Group H campaign off to a winning start today when they face Serbia at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
It's expected that Brazil will be too good for their opposition this evening. Many bookmakers and supporters have listed Tite's side as the favourites to lift their sixth World Cup title due to their array of talent in all areas of the pitch, including the likes of Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Jesus and Casemiro.
The fixture provides a tough task for the Serbians, who have failed to progress past the group stage phase of the tournament once since they reached the quarter-finals in Italy 1990. In 2018, they crashed out of the group stage that also included Brazil.
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However, Serbia does possess a number of quality players dotted across Europe's biggest leagues that could cause the South Americans issues this evening. With that in mind, football.london brings you three players to keep an eye on who could ruin Brazil's opening fixture.
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Fulham striker Mitrovic will be aiming to prove more people wrong this month after supplying the goods in the Premier League this season. After many disappointing campaigns in the top flight, Mitrovic has placed himself as one of the league's most in-form strikers, with nine goals in 12 appearances this season.
After missing the Cottagers' final two league games to Manchester City and Manchester United, Mitrovic is in contention to represent his nation this evening and will be hoping to add to the 50 Serbia goals he's already netted. The aim of the game will be to deploy a direct style against the Brazilians, with Dragan Stojkovic's side forced to accept they won't see much of the ball, and Mitrovic could be a key vocal point in knocking balls down for Filip Kostic and Dusan Tadic to run on to.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Behind Mitrovic and set to be the anchor in Serbia's midfield is Milinkovic-Savic. The Lazio midfielder will have the tough task of keeping Casemiro off the ball and keeping Brazil out of Serbia's penalty box. However, his talent is greatly appreciated in Europe, with Chelsea and Arsenal strongly linked with him over the course of the past year.
Should he find himself on the ball and in Brazil's half, the 27-year-old is more than capable of splitting the defence open or picking out Mitrovic in the penalty area. Establishing yourself as one of Serie A's best midfielders doesn't come without being a quality player, and Tite will almost certainly have one of his anchors closely marking him.
Dusan Tadic
The 'advanced playmaker' of the Serbian national team, Tadic has produced 10 assists for Ajax this season and will be at the heart of whatever The Eagles manage tonight. Like most of the Serbia players, the former Southampton man will spend most of the game chasing shadows and attempting to launch counter-attacks, but if he gets the opportunity, he can be dangerous.
Not just renowned for his creativity, Tadic also knows where the back of the net is. He's scored 20 international goals, and with him expected to sit behind the striker, he may play the part of a key cog in Stojkovic's side.
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