England will battle it out with Serbia for a valuable three points when they go head-to-head in a World Cup qualifying clash in Belgrade on Tuesday night, with head coach Thomas Tuchel determined for his side to maintain their 100 per cent winning record in Group K after overcoming Andorra last weekend.
The Three Lions started the international break with a victory thanks to an own goal from Christian Garcia and Declan Rice finding the back of the net at Villa Park, while their defence has still not been breached as they aim to move a step closer to booking their place in the tournament.
GIVEMESPORT has predicted who will be involved for England and their hosts Serbia when they lock horns and seek to edge towards competing in the United States, Canada and Mexico for World Cup glory next summer.
England Team News
Marc Guehi in action for Crystal Palace
England have been handed a significant injury worry ahead of their encounter with Serbia as Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi is a major doubt after sustaining a groin problem during the victory over Andorra, meaning that he may not be in a position to be included in the heart of the backline.
Elliot Anderson, who has become a regular starter at Nottingham Forest since joining the Midlands side for £35million from Premier League counterparts Newcastle United in July 2024, is vying to retain his place in the starting lineup after being handed his international debut on Saturday.
Tuchel Provides Update on Attacking Options
England boss Thomas Tuchel
Tuchel was critical of Marcus Rashford, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke's wastefulness in the final third of the pitch following the triumph over Andorra, insisting that England would have won the fixture by a more convincing margin if they had been clinical when in possession. The German tactician said:
"I think we missed the little moments to accelerate the game. Maybe Ebz [Eberechi Eze] didn't have his best day in the number 10, the last pass from Noni Madueke wasn't clinical enough and Marcus Rashford had good moments but couldn't finish them.
"It's stuff that can happen against a narrow team. The second goal should have come earlier because it gave us a lot of freedom. In general, with the effort and attitude, I am totally satisfied and it was a much better performance than in June. It would have been deserved to win 4-0 or 5-0."
England Predicted XI
Harry Kane in action for England against Andorra
England Predicted XI: Pickford; James, Konsa, Burn, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Anderson; Madueke, Gibbs-White, Gordon; Kane.
England Predicted Substitutes: Henderson (GK), Trafford (GK), Guehi (DEF), Livramento (DEF), Spence (DEF), Henderson (MID), Loftus-Cheek (MID), Rogers (MID), Bowen (FWD), Eze (FWD), Rashford (FWD), Watkins (FWD).
Following Tuchel's public fault-finding when it came to the likes of Eze and Rashford, England could hand starts to Nottingham Forest creative midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White and Newcastle United wide forward Anthony Gordon as they seek to have more of a cutting edge in a hostile atmosphere in Serbia.
Aston Villa central defender Ezri Konsa is likely to come into the Three Lions' backline if Guehi is unable to prove his fitness, while Djed Spence is on course to settle for a place on the bench as the Tottenham Hotspur full-back continues searching for his first cap after being an unused substitute against Andorra.
Serbia Team News
Djordje Petrovic in action for Serbia
Serbia have plenty of Premier League experience in their ranks, thanks to Djordje Petrovic, Nikola Milenkovic and Sasa Lukic currently being on the books of Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Fulham respectively, while Aleksandar Mitrovic - who joined Qatari side Al Rayyan last week - has also featured in the English top flight.
Dusan Vlahovic - who is on a contract worth more than £360,000-per-week at Juventus - grabbed the only goal of the contest when his country beat Latvia last weekend, allowing Dragan Stojkovic's side to go into the Group K encounter sitting just five points behind England with a game in hand.
Serbia Predicted XI
Aleksandar Mitrovic in action for Serbia
Serbia Predicted XI: Petrovic; Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, I. Ilic, Lukic, Katai, Kostic; Vlahovic, Mitrovic.
Serbia Predicted Substitutes: Rosic (GK), V. Ilic (GK), Terzic (DEF), Babic (DEF), Erakovic (DEF), Ugresic (MID), Maksimovic (MID), Gudelj (MID), Birmancevic (MID), Samardzic (MID), Jovic (FWD), Stulic (FWD).
Mitrovic is pushing to be included in Serbia's starting line-up, at the expense of AEK Athens marksman Luka Jovic, after coming off the bench during the win over Latvia. The 30-year-old got his name on the scoresheet 38 times over the course of 129 Premier League appearances while with Fulham and Newcastle.
All statistics courtesy of Sofascore - correct as of 08/09/2025
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