Brazil v Serbia: History can repeat itself for favourites

Brazil v Serbia betting tips, odds and preview

Brazil start the tournament as outright favourites in the World Cup 2022 betting and will hope to show why when they get their campaign under way in Qatar.

The South Americans have plenty of reasons to be confident but have failed to make it to the semi-finals since their last World Cup triumph in 2002.

Thursday’s Group G match at the Lusail Stadium kicks off at 7pm and is live on the BBC.

Strong start not vital

Making a flying start to the tournament is not always the hallmark of eventual champions.

France were far from convincing four years ago when they needed a late winner to beat Australia while 2010 champions Spain started with a 1-0 defeat against Switzerland.

Even so, the favourites will want to produce a statement performance and Brazil winning odds of 4/9 suggest they should be too strong for their European opposition.

Brazilian art 🎨

🇧🇷 @CBF_Futebol's collection of #FIFAWorldCup goals is one of a kind pic.twitter.com/TA13w7uaHp

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 12, 2022

Serbia qualified as group winners at Portugal’s expense so deserve plenty of respect but could be forgiven for feeling hard done by when they were drawn in the same group as the five-time champions for a second successive World Cup.

The two teams met in the final round of group matches in 2018 when a 2-0 win for Brazil saw them top Group E while Serbia were eliminated after finishing third.

Another Brazil win to nil this time is 11/8 while a 2-0 victory looks a decent option for Brazil v Serbia betting tips at 6/1.

Serbia could struggle without duo

Brazil’s task will be made a whole lot easier if Serbia are without star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The Fulham man has been one of the stars of the Premier League season so far with nine goals for a team widely tipped for relegation but he missed the last two games with a foot injury.

Fellow forward Dusan Vlahovic has also been sidelined for Juventus recently with a groin problem and Serbia may opt to give the duo more time to recover ahead of games against Cameroon and Switzerland which offer a more realistic chance to pick up points.

In contrast, Brazil coach Tite has plenty of attacking options to choose from and looking at the Brazil v Serbia odds, Coral’s Odds Booster of 11/4 for Brazil to win both halves – as they did in 2018 – catches the eye.

Raphinha value for goals

Neymar is one of the star men on show in Qatar and his eight goals in qualifying played a significant part in Brazil topping the South American group.

The PSG man is the 3/1 favourite in the first goalscorer odds but Richarlison plays as the central striker and looks better value at 4/1.

For punters seeking a bigger price then Barcelona winger Raphinha can be backed at 11/2, having scored five goals in 11 appearances since making his debut last year.

Raphinha is also 9/2 to outscore the opposition and with the Serbs potentially short on strikers, that looks a solid pick to complete our Brazil v Serbia predictions.

View the latest World Cup odds

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication