Slovenia vs Serbia lineups: Confirmed team news, predicted XIs and injury latest for Euro 2024 game

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Filip Kostic has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2024 ahead of his country’s clash against Slovenia on Thursday.

The Juventus winger was forced off in the first-half of his country’s opening defeat to England and, as Serbia boss Dragan Stojkovic feared on Sunday, the issue is a significant one, and he will now fly home.

“He will go do all the medical check-ups,” Stojkovic said after the match. “He has felt pain in his external part of the knee.

"I believe that ligaments are in question but I cannot say something with certainty as we’re not sure. He has ice on his knees.”

With Kostic ruled out, Filip Mladenovic is the obvious choice to come in at left wing-back, as he did off the bench against England.

Captain Dusan Tadic was surprisingly named among the substitutes for the opening match, coming on for the final 30 minutes, but he will hope to make the starting lineup this time. That would likely see Sasa Lukic dropped to the bench and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic moved into a deeper role.

Slovenia did not appear to pick up any injury issues in their draw with Denmark on Sunday. That opening point means victory over Serbia would likely be enough to secure a place in the last-16, before they face England in their final group-stage match.

Benjamin Sesko will again lead the line as he looks for his first goal of the Euros, having smacked an effort off the woodwork against Denmark.

Benjamin Verbic is an option to come into the side if Matjaz Kek opts to shuffle his pack. The winger was battling a hamstring injury ahead of the tournament, but recovered to make the bench against Denmark and featured for 25 minutes off the bench.

Predicted Slovenia XI: Oblak; Karnicnik, Drkusic, Bijol, Janza; Stojanovic, Elsnik, Cerin, Mlakar; Sporar, Sesko

Predicted Serbia XI: Rajkovic; Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Gudelj, Mladenovic; Tadic; Mitrovic, Vlahovic

Time and date: 2pm BST, Thursday June 20, 2024

Venue: Allianz Arena, Munich

TV channel: ITV1

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