Serbia vs Belgium Prediction: Belgians will be closer to beating Serbians for the 2nd time in a row

The Serbian national team lost away to Belgium in the first face-off in the current qualification for the 2023 World Cup. Will the Serbs be able to take revenge on Belgium at home? We'll pick a few options to bet on at once.

The Serbs are playing this year's qualifying without their biggest star Nikola Jokic. That could be the main reason for the team's poor offensive play. In their previous game and the first one in July, Serbia scored only 59 points on the road against Latvia, losing 59-66. Thankfully, the goal of making it to the next qualification round has already been accomplished.

Belgian basketball has been among the best on the European continent in recent years. So Belgium's first-ever World Cup appearance will not come as a surprise. The team is already close to it. Five rounds of the second qualifying round played, the Belgians have already ensured themselves a pass to the next stage. The team led by Dario Gjergja lost twice to Latvia but defeated the Serbs, confidently defeating Slovakia twice.

The defeat for the Serbs in their first head-to-head encounter in this qualifier was their first ever defeat against the Belgians.

Looking at the lineups of the teams, Serbia does not have a clear advantage here. There's no Nikola Jokic, but the newly minted NBA champion Nemanja Bjelica is. However, mostly Serbian players play for average European clubs. So do Belgians. But Belgium's motivation to make a historic achievement speaks for itself and the team spirit that the Serbs lack today, remembering the failure to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo. Even with, or because of, the legendary Svetislav Pesic at the helm.

Prediction: Belgium will be close to beating Serbia for the second time in a row.

Betting options:

• Handicap Belgium (+9.5) for 2.15;
• Serbia ITU (80) for 1.84;
• W2 for 5.25.

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