On Monday, there is a very poor offer for betting, and this time we have analyzed the friendly duel between Cyprus and Serbia, which will be played in Larnaca. The start of the match between these two teams is scheduled for 2 PM.
Cyprus: Can the Hosts Spring a Surprise?
The Cyprus national football team hasn’t achieved any significant results so far, and it’s important to note that this team has never participated in any major tournament. In the last qualifiers for the European Championship, which will be held in Germany in a few months, Cyprus finished last in their group without any points, a decidedly disappointing outcome. In the eight matches played in the qualifiers, the team suffered the same number of defeats, scoring only three goals while conceding 25, averaging over three goals conceded per match, giving the impression that Cyprus was, to put it mildly, not successful in the qualifiers.
Looking back at Cyprus’s previous participation in the Nations League, it’s worth mentioning that Cyprus played in the third division, but even there, the team didn’t particularly stand out. Unfortunately, Temur Ketsbaia’s team again finished last in their group and was relegated to the fourth division, but the performance wasn’t as poor as in the EURO qualifiers. In six Nations League matches, the Cyprus team collected five points, notably managing to defeat Greece, which is arguably one of the most significant triumphs in the team’s history. That match ended 1:0, with Cionis scoring the only goal in the first half. The remaining two points were earned in matches against Northern Ireland, both at home and away, and interestingly, these two teams ended up with the same number of points, but Northern Ireland had a better goal difference, which is why Cyprus finished last in the group.
In the last round, Ketsbaia’s men suffered a debacle away against so-called Kosovo, with the match ending 5:1. It’s also worth mentioning that Cyprus finished the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar, in second-to-last place in their group with five points. However, it’s fair to acknowledge that the group was not easy, featuring teams like Croatia, Russia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Recently, Cyprus played a friendly match at home against Latvia, which ended in a 1:1 draw, with the observation that the hosts were very close to victory, as the Latvians equalized in the 85th minute with a goal from Cigankis. Regarding head-to-head matches with Serbia, these two teams have faced each other five times, with Serbia winning four times and one draw, which occurred in 2012 with no goals scored.
Serbia: Disastrous Performance Against Russia!
It’s true that Serbia, after quite some time, managed to qualify for two major tournaments in a row. However, the expertise of the legendary Dragan Stojković “Piksi” is increasingly being questioned. First and foremost, it must be pointed out that the Eagles are but a shadow of the team that topped their World Cup qualifying group, ahead of the favored Portugal, especially after their triumph in the final round against this team in Lisbon.
A painful reality check followed at the World Cup, where the Serbian national team somewhat unexpectedly finished last in their group with just one point, earned in the match against Cameroon. The remaining two games were lost, first to Brazil and then in the final round to Switzerland, who for the second consecutive time proved fatal for our team.
Before the World Cup, Piksi’s men managed to secure first place in their Nations League group, earning promotion to Division A, which is no small feat. At the start of the qualifiers, the Serbian coach promised that the Eagles would qualify for the EURO after a 24-year drought, which ultimately happened. However, the general impression is that the team did not shine. In the end, Aleksandar Mitrović and his teammates finished second in their group, four points behind first-placed Hungary, but three points ahead of third-placed Montenegro.
Not everything went smoothly in the last round for our national team, as at one point Bulgaria was leading 2-1. At the same time, Montenegro was ahead in their away game against Hungary. These were results that did not favor the Eagles. However, Hungary managed to turn the game around, and Serbia, with a late goal by Babić, drew 2-2, securing their place in the European Championship. This led to a grand celebration, although the general impression was that Piksi’s men did not excel in the qualifiers.
The first match since that November game against Bulgaria was played a few days ago away against Russia. In that match, the Russian team demolished Serbia, winning easily with a score of 4-0. The impression was that the victory could have been even more convincing. Once again, it was evident that the Eagles have significant problems in their defensive line, conceding goals too easily. It remains a question whether these issues can be resolved, as there are only a few months left until the start of the EURO in Germany.
Finally, it is expected that Dragan Stojković will make some changes compared to the match against Russia, all in an effort to lead the Eagles to their first victory since last October when they defeated Montenegro 3-1 in Belgrade.
Our Betting Suggestions
It seems likely that Dragan Stojković’s men will give their all to make up for the dismal match against Russia, and the best way to do that is a victory against Cyprus. Therefore, we advise you to focus on the htft 2-2 transition bet, for which Mozzartbet has prepared odds of 1.85.
We have mentioned many times in our analyses that the Eagles almost always concede at least one goal in every match. Given the current situation, it’s very likely that this could happen today as well. Hence, we suggest you try the t1 over 0.5 goals game with an odds of 1.80 at Mozzartbet.
Finally, perhaps the ideal combination for this friendly duel between Cyprus and Serbia is the 2&GG bet, which Mozzartbet offers with excellent odds of 2.80.
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