Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is expected to start on the substitutes' bench for their World Cup 2022 Group G opener against Brazil at the Lusail Stadium on Thursday.

The 28-year-old – who is Serbia's all-time leading scorer with 50 strikes to his name – missed Fulham's last two Premier League games due to an ankle injury before joining up with the national team.

Mitrovic also missed Serbia's 5-1 friendly victory over Bahrain last Friday and with a lack of match sharpness under his belt, the striker is set to begin on the bench against Brazil, paving the way for Dusan Vlahovic and Luka Jovic to lead the line in attack.

After operating with a four-man defence in last week's win against Bahrain, Dragan Stojkovic is expected to revert to a three-at-the-back system, which could see Strahinja Pavlovic join Nikola Milenkovic and Stefan Mitrovic at centre-back, shielding goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

Andrija Zivkovic and Filip Kostic are poised to operate as wing-backs, while Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is set to partner Sevilla's Nemanja Gudelj in centre-midfield.

Captain and key playmaker Dusan Tadic – who provided more assists (six) than any other player in UEFA World Cup qualifying – is expected to dictate play in the number 10 role and provide support for strikers Vlahovic and Jovic.

Serbia possible starting lineup: V. Milinkovic-Savic; Milenkovic, S. Mitrovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, Gudelj, S. Milinkovic-Savic, Kostic; Tadic; Vlahovic, Jovic

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