Preview: Hungary vs. Serbia - prediction, team news, lineups

The qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 is entering an exciting phase as the top two of Group G go head to head on Friday night, with Hungary taking on Serbia at Puskas Arena – a match that could potentially decide who wins the group.

Both teams go into the match level on points, but Hungary have a big advantage with one game less played than Serbia, therefore even a defeat would not be a disaster for Marco Rossi's team.

Match preview

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The Magyars are the only team in Group G still unbeaten after four games - three wins and a draw with only one goal conceded.

They started their qualifying campaign with a comprehensive 3-0 home win over Bulgaria on matchday one before having to settle for a goalless draw against Montenegro.

Surprisingly, Rossi's side failed to crack the Montenegrin defensive block despite having over 70% possession and even recorded fewer attempts on goal than their opponents.

After losing two valuable points, Hungary bounced back three days later with a 2-0 win over Lithuania to celebrate their second victory in qualifying. They later consolidated their position as group leaders against direct rivals Serbia, whom they beat 2-1, with Barnabas Varga and Willi Orban scoring twice in three minutes.

A win would put Hungary in pole position to finish first in Group G, but the battle for direct qualification is far from over with Montenegro sitting third and only two points behind the two group leaders.

Looking beyond this match, another boost of confidence for Hungary is their current away record – Rossi's men are unbeaten in their last five away games, including an emphatic 4-0 win over England in the UEFA Nations League.

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Serbia, on the other hand, made a perfect start to their qualifying campaign, winning their first two matches in late March against Lithuania and Montenegro in commanding fashion, scoring four goals without reply.

An unexpected 1-1 draw with Bulgaria followed a few months later, and that could have ended even worse as Dragan Stojkovic's side only rescued a point in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Darko Lazovic scored a late equaliser.

The shocking result in Sofia was followed by a 2-1 loss to Hungary in a duel for the top spot in the group. Serbia took the lead in the first 10 minutes through an own goal by Attila Szalai, but then conceded two goals in succession to go 2-1 down at half time and eventually losing the top-of-the-group clash.

Finally, Serbia managed to beat Lithuania 3-1 in Kaunas, with Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring a hat-trick in the first half to secure a fairly comfortable victory.

A defeat on Friday night would significantly damage Serbia's chances of finishing top of Group G, as Hungary still have a game in hand and could be six points clear with two games left to play.

Team News

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Hungary have a fully fit squad and will be at full strength on Friday night. Roland Sallai, Dominik Szoboszlai and Varga make up the offensive trio in a 3-4-2-1 formation that should cause problems for Serbia throughout the match.

The trio have scored a combined four goals in their first four games and are indispensable on the offensive end if they are to trouble their opponents.

The defensive trio of Adam Lang, Szalai and Orban have proven nearly flawless throughout qualifying, and Denes Dibusz in goal has also been a reliable backstop, conceding just one goal so far.

At first glance, Serbia have even more squad depth than Hungary and can easily match Friday's opponents in terms of talent in attack.

Mitrovic, who scored a hat-trick in 20 minutes against Lithuania, will undoubtedly lead the Eagles, with Dusan Tadic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic acting as creative forces behind the former Fulham striker.

However, their defensive unit has not performed as expected and has failed to keep a clean sheet in three consecutive games, adding to the pressure on the shoulders of Nikola Milenkovic, Milos Veljkovic and Srdjan Babic.

Hungary possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Lang, Orban, Szalai; Nego, Kerkez, Nagy, Styles, Sallai, Szoboszlai; Varga

Serbia possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Veljkovic, Gudelj, Pavlovic; Radonjic, Kostic, Maksimovic, Milinkovic-Savic, Tadic; Mitrovic, Vlahovic

We say: Hungary 2-1 Serbia

Both teams are full of attacking talent, which makes the game an exciting encounter.

Serbia look more vulnerable defensively, as the games against Bulgaria and Lithuania showed. Therefore, it is hard to imagine that Stojkovic's eleven will be able to keep such a highly talented team as Hungary at bay for the entire 90 minutes.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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