We will see 'better Neymar' this World Cup - Silva

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Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic — Aleksandar Mitrovic is Serbia’s all-time top goalscorer, scoring 50 goals in 76 international matches.

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Brazil captain Thiago Silva says we will see a “better Neymar” at this World Cup after injury hampered his last two tournaments.

Neymar missed the 2014 semi-final with a back injury and struggled to be fully fit for the 2018 tournament after foot surgery earlier this year.

However, he arrives in Qatar in top form and having scored 15 goals in 20 games for Paris St-Germain this season.

“I think Neymar comes into this competition in great form,” Silva said.

“His preparation this time has been different. In 2014 he got injured just as he was playing very well, and in 2018 he came into the tournament differently because he had a serious injury and hadn’t played much.

“Now with a different preparation, with no injury and no worries, we see a better Neymar.”

TEAM NEWS

Brazil coach Tite has refused to say whether Lucas Paqueta will play in place of defensive midfielder Fred.

The Brazilian media have speculated that the Selecao will present a very offensive 4-1-4-1.

Serbia optimistic Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic will be available to return from a foot injury.

Fellow forward Dusan Vlahovic bounced back from a groin problem in a friendly against Bahrain and could partner Luka Jovic in attack.

SUTTON’S PREDICTION

Serbia don’t have that much strength in depth in their squad, but they have so many talented players in their strongest eleven, and they will be a big danger from set pieces.

They could give Brazil a scare or two here, although I don’t expect any surprises with the final result.

Brazil are in excellent form and have lost just one of their last 29 matches – the 2021 Copa America final against Argentina.

Neymar is the best diver at this World Cup, but he’s also scoring plenty of goals, and we’ll likely see him do a bit of both in the coming weeks.

Prediction: 2-1

Chris Sutton’s predictions for the first round of World Cup matches

Neymar is just two goals short of equaling Pelé's Brazilian record of 77

DATA OF THE MATCH

Brazil are unbeaten in 17 games against Serbia (including Yugoslavia) since an 8-4 defeat in Belgrade on June 3, 1934. The Selecao have only gone on longer winless streaks against Ecuador (20 games between 1942- 2000) and Paraguay (18 matches since 1954). -1963).
They are unbeaten in their last 15 World Cup group games, winning 12, with their last group stage defeat coming in 1998 against Norway.
Neymar has been directly involved in 42% of Brazil’s last 19 goals at the World Cup, scoring six and assisting two.
Serbia (including Serbia and Montenegro) have qualified for four of the last five World Cups but have lost seven of their nine matches in the finals, the most defeats by any European nation in that period.

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