USA (w) vs Serbia (w) Prediction: Americans to sail through the game

It's hard to say who has been an uncomfortable opponent for the Olympic champions in recent years, but the Serbian team, no matter how it performs, is definitely not one of them. Whether Bošković is there or not, it doesn't really matter for the Americans.

The Americans quite predictably took the first place in the preliminary tournament, losing only one match out of 12. They traditionally have a constantly changing lineup, so it's hard to say who will take part in this game - Drews or Thompson, Hancock or Poulter, etc. Kiraly's choice won't affect the outcome of the game, but the stats might. If the fourth quarter isn't covered by the strongest players, which currently lists Robinson and probably Plummer, the Serbian team's blocking numbers could very well go up. The same goes for aces and service errors, as Americans serve differently. So I'd rather not play the statistics in this game.

Santarelli's team lost four of 12 matches, two of them in three sets to the Americans and Brazilians. Brazil thrashed Serbia, but the Americans had to struggle in one of the sets, 33-31. Anyway, in that game the US national team had an ambiguous line-up – neither the first, nor the second. There was Plummer but not Robinson, Washington played but not Dixon. In short, it was another experiment by Karch Kiraly, which probably won't happen this time. It's the playoffs, after all. On the other hand, you can't get into his head.

Serbia itself may not surprise with any sort of power play, so we can't expect a long, hard-fought game.

The last time the Americans didn't beat Serbia three-to-nil was in 2019.

Bookmakers have little faith that the match will drag on. They are offering odds of 1.70, or even less, on a three-set victory for the US. What's interesting is that even after playing a game on balance the week before last, the Americans still beat Serbia by a margin of 19 points. Last year at the Olympics, the Serbian mainstay performed a little better, losing by 18 points. Well, it was 27 in the Nations League. Here are the betting options for you to consder:

Handicap USA (-16.5) for 1.60;

Handicap USA in 3rd Set (-5.5) for 1.89;

Serbia Individual Total Under (63.5) for 1.83.

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