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Although performance levels have been a little inconsistent over the past six months, it would be unfair to direct too much criticism towards Thomas Tuchel’s men.
The Three Lions have won all six of their opening World Cup qualifiers, leaving themselves seven points clear at the summit of Group K heading into the penultimate round of fixtures. After comfortably dispatching Latvia and Albania at Wembley back in March, England toiled throughout the double-header meeting with Andorra but still managed to secure maximum points. Thumping victories in Belgrade and Riga then followed, as Tuchel achieved his first major objective following his appointment at the beginning of 2026.
Meanwhile, Serbia have endured an arduous World Cup qualifying campaign. Considered England’s biggest threat following the group stage draw, the Balkan outfit have been miles off the pace. A drab goalless draw in Tirana was hardly the ideal start, although Aleksandar Mitrović lifted spirits with a superb hat-trick against Andorra three days later. The Serbians managed to record a narrow victory over Latvia at the start of September’s international break, but the 5-0 loss to England felt like a defining hammer blow to their ailing qualification bid. It also put intense pressure on under-fire Head Coach Dragan Stojković, who subsequently resigned after Serbia were beaten by Albania at the Dubočica Stadium. Although they went on to record a 3-1 away triumph against Andorra, the Eagles’ hopes of automatic World Cup qualification were immediately dashed thanks to England’s emphatic win in Latvia.
ITV will provide exclusive live coverage of Thursday’s contest, with programming commencing 45 minutes ahead of a 19:45 (GMT) kick-off. The match will also be available in Scotland on ITV’s sister channel STV, while online viewers can stream the match by visiting ITVX or STV Player.
England v Serbia: Key information
Date: Thursday, November 13th
Kick-off time: 19:45 (GMT)
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)
Assistant Referees/Fourth Official: Branislav Hancko and Ján Pozor/ Peter Kráľovič (all Slovakia)
VAR: Clay Ruperti (Netherlands)
Assistant VAR: Erwin Blank (Netherlands)
TV Channels/Live stream: ITV1 and STV (TV), ITVX and STV Player (stream online)
Odds: England: 3/10, Draw: 4/1, Serbia: 10/1
Odds provided by bet365
England v Serbia team news
While he has an opportunity to rotate his squad following England’s exploits during the last international window, expect Thomas Tuchel to field as strong a side as possible. As he demonstrated when selecting his line-up to face Wales in October’s friendly clash, the Bavarian tactician values the importance of maintaining positive momentum.
Veljko Paunović leads his country into battle for the very first time, having only been appointed just over a fortnight ago. Although even a play-off place now looks unlikely, the former Reading boss will be asking his big-name players to ensure Serbia at least have a fighting chance come Sunday, when they meet Latvia in Group K’s final set of matches.
England team news
There have been two withdrawals since Tuchel announced his provisional squad last week, with Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi looking increasingly likely to join confirmed absentees Nick Pope and Anthony Gordon on the sidelines.
Guéhi bruised a bone in his foot during Palace’s Conference League win over AZ Alkmaar at Selhurst Park, while Pope is still recovering from the effects of a concussion. The experienced stopper fell awkwardly midway through the second half of Newcastle’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford, leading him to be replaced by England’s former back-up ‘keeper Aaron Ramsdale. Having been struggling with a hip injury over the past few weeks, Gordon was left out of the Magpies squad altogether for Sunday’s visit to the Gtech Community Stadium. Chelsea's Trevor Chalobah and Cumbrian goalkeeper James Trafford have since been added to Tuchel's squad.
Jude Bellingham is back in the England camp after completing his recovery from a long-term shoulder issue, while there’s also a place for Phil Foden following his surprise omission last month. The Manchester City playmaker has looked more like himself of late, with two goals in last week’s Champions League meeting with Borussia Dortmund doing him no harm at all. Adam Wharton is also rewarded with a recall, but Jack Grealish once again falls short despite an impressive start to his loan spell at Everton.
Noni Madueke, Tino Livramento, and Trent Alexander-Arnold are ruled out for a second successive window due to injury, although the Real Madrid full-back is slowly starting to see some game time. Reece James returns to the fold following his late withdrawal last time round, his Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer is still nursing a persistent groin problem.
There remains a question mark as to whether Ollie Watkins’ absence is due to form or fitness, as his lengthy goal drought continues. Tuchel believes the Aston Villa striker is currently playing through ‘discomfort’ and therefore requires a break, but many have suggested Watkins’ place in next summer’s World Cup squad is now under threat.
England predicted line-up v Serbia (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Thomas Tuchel
Jordan Pickford (GK), Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Djed Spence, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane
Serbia team news
Veljko Paunović isn’t burdened by any major injury headaches, but he will need to keep an eye on the fitness of influential frontman Dušan Vlahović. The Juventus star developed a back issue during the Bianconeri’s 1-1 draw with Sporting Lisbon, although he did still manage to find his way onto the scoresheet. After coming through Saturday evening’s Derby della Mole unscathed, Vlahović is likely to start against England.
Industrious midfielder Ivan Ilić – who featured for Torino in the aforementioned Serie A clash – is in contention for a starting berth after missing both of October’s ties due to a calf issue, while Saša Lukić was also unavailable for last month’s meetings with Albania and Andorra through injury. However, as the Fulham maestro is currently lacking in match practice, he may have to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench.
Having been sent off in controversial circumstances during the last encounter with England, Nottingham Forest’s Nikola Milenković is set to re-assume his familiar position at the heart of Serbia’s back three. The Eagles’ defensive frailties have been badly exposed throughout the Autumn period, having failed to keep a clean sheet in a three-match sequence that included an away trip to Andorra’s Estadi de la FAF.
Serbia predicted line-up v England (3-2-3-2)
Coach: Veljko Paunović
Đorđe Petrović (GK), Miloš Veljković, Nikola Milenković, Strahinja Pavlović, Aleksandar Stanković, Nemanja Maksimović, Andrija Živković, Lazar Samardžić, Filip Kostić, Dušan Vlahović, Aleksandar Mitrović
Where to watch on TV or live stream?
Having reclaimed exclusive broadcasting rights for England’s major tournament qualifiers just over two years ago, ITV are the only network authorised to present live coverage from Wembley on Thursday evening. The free-to-air channel will also follow the Three Lions in their bid to qualify for Euro 2028, which is set to be staged across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
England v Serbia is also accessible via ITV’s in-house streaming platform ITVX. where extended highlights and a full match replay will also be uploaded after the referee’s final whistle. With Scotland not playing until Saturday evening, viewers located north of the border can see how the ‘Auld Enemy‘ fares by tuning into STV or watching online on STV Player.
Head-to-head record
Ahead of September’s meeting at the Rajko Mitić Stadium, these two European heavyweights had only previously faced each other once. Jude Bellingham’s early towering header was enough to hand England all three points on that occasion, as Serbia started their Euro 2024 campaign with a painful loss in Gelsenkirchen. Although Gareth Southgate’s men somehow navigated their way to the final following a series of underwhelming displays, the Eagles would crash out at the conclusion of the group stages.
It was clearly a more one-sided affair when the two teams locked horns for the first time during the current qualification campaign, as the Three Lions ran out 5-0 winners in the Serbian capital. After talismanic striker Harry Kane nodded the visitors in front, Noni Madueke, Ezri Konsa, and Marc Guéhi all netted their first-ever international goals before Marcus Rashford rounded off the scoring with a coolly converted spot-kick.
Odds for England v Serbia
Given the recent respective fortunes of Thursday night‘s opponents, England are unsurprisingly considered overwhelming favourites to deliver a fourth consecutive Wembley win. Nevertheless, with Serbia desperate to remain in contention and the hosts already through, a price of 10/1 for an away victory – which is available at leading bookmakers bet365 – appears to offer extremely good value.
Match Result odds
The odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change. All odds provided by bet365