Denmark v Serbia: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream and TV Info
The European Under-21 Championship reaches its final round of group games, and we begin with Group A on Tuesday.
Denmark take on Serbia in a match where both sides can still clinch qualification for the semi-finals with a victory, though the Czech Republic vs. Germany result will influence/determine proceedings.
The Details
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Group A
Venue: Stadion Letna, Prague
Date: June 23, 2015
Time: 7:45 p.m. BST
TV and Live Stream: BT Sport 1 & HD (UK) / UEFA.tv live stream
Denmark Preview
Denmark were very poor against Germany, failing to string anything together offensively and failing to contain from a defensive standpoint. The 3-0 scoreline could, and perhaps should, have been nearer to 6-0, with only centre-back Jannik Vestergaard able to hold his head high after the performance.
Nicolai Brock-Madsen did nothing from the central striker's position, and Jess Thorup must be considering rotating him back out of the XI. He'll hope Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is fit enough to play this time, and Riza Durmisi will come in for the suspended Jonas Knudsen.
Resisting the urge to make too many changes is important—this side beat the Czechs in Game 1, after all—but at least three changes are expected.
Serbia Preview
Serbia lost 4-0 to the Czech Republic in Round 2, and many have sounded the death knells on their campaign already. The point against Germany is long forgotten, but they're a win (and a loss for either side in the other game) away from a semi-final berth.
Mladen Dodic would be wise to write off the entire team performance as terrible and believe they won't play so poorly again, therefore resisting the urge to change all 11 players. Marko Dmitrovic actually played fairly well in goal, but key players such as Darko Brasanac, Goran Causic, Filip Djuricic, Milos Jojic and Uros Spajic were mentally and physically absent.
Brasanac is suspended for this one, so Aleksandar Kovacevic stands first in line to replace him in midfield, while one area of possible unenforced change could be up front, as Aleksandar Pesic has done very little across two games. Luka Milunovic is an option here.
Where the Game Will Be Won
Serbia's defensive line was swallowed up and spat out by the Czech Republic in Round 2, with the full-backs in particular suffering. That spells trouble ahead of this one, as Denmark's preferred route of attack is to play diagonal/longer passes into Yussuf Poulsen on the right flank for him to chase or bring down.
Eagles left-back Nemanja Petrovic at least managed to avoid the ignominy of being withdrawn at half-time against the Czechs—a fate reserved for right-back Filip Stojkovic instead—but nothing about his performance was positive. This should be the area the Danes attack.
Meanwhile, Emre Can's lovely pass for Kevin Volland's opening goal against Thorup's men on Saturday illustrated a certifiable crack in the Danish armour: Playing incisive passes through the channels outside the centre-backs can yield joy.
As good as Vestergaard has been, he struggles high up in space. Jojic showed in the first game he's lethal latching on to those quicker balls out of defence, and if Djuricic can slide him in, he's got a good route to goal.
Prediction
Both sides are looking to rebound from houndings, so both will be mentally fragile and a little raw; it should create an interesting edge to the spectacle.
We'll tip the Danes to come out on top in a tight encounter, with Yussuf Poulsen finally coming good on the flashes of promise he's shown in the tournament so far to lead them to victory.
Denmark 2-0 Serbia
