Comments and predictions for Albania vs Serbia: Hope extinguished at the last minute

Latest Albania vs Serbia team information

Albania coach Sylvinho has plenty of attacking options for the games against Serbia and Latvia this month, with Chelsea's Armando Broja competing for a starting spot alongside Uzuni and Manaj in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

However, Broja could be affected by his lack of playing time towards the end of the season with Everton, while Manaj is also only just returning from a groin injury that saw him miss Sivasspor's last two Turkish Super Lig games, so should be used with caution.

Three of Albania’s leaders are currently playing in Italy – captain Berat Djimsiti (Atalanta), vice-captain Elseid Hysaj (Lazio) and third-vice-captain Ardian Ismajli (Empoli). Hysaj currently has 89 caps for his country, just four behind Lorik Cana and has the chance to become the most capped player in the history of the Albanian men’s national team.

Meanwhile, Serbia will be without their captain – goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic – who was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a serious thigh injury and has now undergone surgery.

So Chelsea's Djordje Petrovic will start on Saturday, with Stojkovic facing a familiar dilemma: choosing between using either striker Dusan Vlahovic or Aleksandar Mitrovic, or both from the start in a 3-5-2 formation.

If Mitrovic plays, he will make his 99th appearance for the national team and will have the chance to join five Serbian players to reach 100 appearances this month. His next goal will also be his 60th international goal.

Latest predicted lineup for Albania vs Serbia

Albania:

Strakosha; Hysaj, Djimsiti, Ajeti, Mitaj; Asllani, Bajrami; Uzuni, Laci, Hoxha; Manaj

Serbia:

Petrovic; Milenkovic, Pavlovic, Erakovic; Zivkovic, Gudelj, Maksimovic, S. Mitrovic; Samardzic; Vlahovic, Mitrovic

Latest football commentary on Albania vs Serbia

After falling victim to England's first defeat under Thomas Tuchel, a home game against underdog Andorra proved to be a timely antidote for Albania, who eased past their opponents in the second leg without much effort.

Former Barcelona academy graduate Rey Manaj scored twice in the first 20 minutes, before Myrto Uzuni sealed a 3-0 win with a late header, keeping the Reds on course for their second major tournament appearance, following their brief Euro 2024 appearance.

Led by former Barcelona and Arsenal left-back Sylvinho and supported by Premier League winner Pablo Zabaleta, Albania are currently second in Group K, good enough to qualify for the play-offs – despite the qualifiers having only just begun.

However, with Andorra and Latvia not considered as contenders for the top two, Albania and Serbia could have to compete directly for the second place in the group, behind the number one candidate, England. This is an opportunity for Albania to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time.

If a miracle happens and England stumble against Andorra on Saturday, the door will open for Albania to temporarily take top spot in Group K. The fact that they have won four of their last five World Cup qualifiers at home is also a big plus.

While Albania had a strong qualifying campaign, Serbia had a late start to their next World Cup campaign due to their participation in the UEFA Nations League relegation play-offs in March.

After finishing third in League A, Dragan Stojkovic's side faced a two-legged play-off against League B-hope Austria, who took the lead after a 1-1 draw away from home, before Nemanja Maksimovic and Dusan Vlahovic scored in the second half of the return leg to give Serbia a 3-1 aggregate win and stay in the top flight.

Serbia are currently on a four-game unbeaten run heading into Tirana, where they begin their bid to qualify for a third successive World Cup. However, the team have never made it past the group stages of a World Cup as an independent nation.

The only official meeting between the men's national teams of Serbia and Albania ended in a 2–0 win for Serbia in Euro 2016 qualifying, when they scored two goals in stoppage time.

However, the first meeting in October 2014 was abandoned in chaos when a drone carrying the Albanian flag flew over the stadium in Belgrade, leading to clashes between players and fans. The match was later awarded a 3-0 win to Albania.

Latest Albania vs Serbia score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Albania vs Serbiaas follows:

• Sportsmole:Albania 1-2 Serbia

• WhoScore:Albania 0-1 Serbia
• Our newspaper predicts:Albania 0-1 Serbia

When and where to watch Albania vs Serbia live?

To watch live the match Albania vs Serbia in the World Cup qualifiers taking place at 1:45 a.m. on June 8, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.