Costa Rica vs. Serbia (1pm, ITV)
Serbia goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic has urged his team to be patient and not go out “all guns blazing” against Costa Rica in the group E opening match.
Speaking ahead of the clash on Sunday at the Samara Arena, Stojkovic told Fifa.com: “The match against Costa Rica is not ‘do or die’, we have three matches, all of them 90 minutes and Costa Rica is a strong opponent.
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“We have to be smart and not go in all guns blazing. The most important thing is not to lose.”
Serbia should include Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in their line-up and Newcastle United forward Aleksandr Mitrovic is another to watch, says The Sun. Mitrovic will lead the line in a 4-2-3-1 formation with support from Dusan Tadic, Adem Ljajic and Filip Kostic.
Costa Rica’s player to watch is goalkeeper and captain Keylor Navas of Real Madrid. At the other end Los Angeles FC forward Marco Urena is expected to lead the line in a 5-4-1 formation and he will be supported by players such as Joel Campbell and Christian Bolanos.
The other group E match on Sunday sees Brazil face Switzerland at the Rostov Arena (7pm UK time, live on ITV).
Costa Rica vs. Serbia predicted starting XIs
Sports Mole predicts that Costa Rica are expected to line up with a 5-4-1 formation and Serbia will opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation.
- Costa Rica: Navas; Gamboa, Gonzalez, Acosta, Duarte, Oviedo; Bolanos, Guzman, Borges, Campbell; Urena
- Serbia: Stojkovic; Rukavina, Ivanovic, Tosic, Kolarov; Matic, Milinkovic-Savic; Tadic, Ljajic, Kostic; Mitrovic
World Cup group E fixtures and live TV channels
- 17 June: Costa Rica vs. Serbia (1pm, ITV); Brazil vs. Switzerland (7pm, ITV)
- 22 June: Brazil vs. Costa Rica (1pm, ITV); Serbia vs. Switzerland (7pm, BBC)
- 27 June: Serbia vs. Brazil (7pm, ITV); Switzerland vs. Costa Rica (7pm, ITV4)