Wales v Serbia: Dragons hungry to make amends in Cardiff

Wales’ hopes of reaching next summer’s World Cup in Brazil might be over but there is still plenty to play for as they host Serbia at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Dragons will look to banish memories of the 6-1 drubbing they received at the hands of the Serbians in Novi Sad last September.

If Chris Coleman’s men are to produce a remarkable turnaround from 12 months ago, they will have to do so without Real Madrid’s £85 million man Gareth Bale, due to concerns about a groin injury.

“As we speak he has gone to have another scan on it to clear his mind so he knows everything is alright,” said the Wales boss.

“He was never going to be available to start either of these games, but at best he would have come on for maybe half an hour. There is a small chance of that tomorrow [Tuesday] night.”

The 24-year-old winger could make the substitutes bench but Wales will definitely be without the services of suspended captain Ashley Williams and injured midfielder Jonathan Williams as they look to improve their record in this World Cup qualifying campaign.

With five defeats from their seven matches it would be easy to write off Wales’ chances in Cardiff but hope springs in the form of Serbia’s away form – Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side have picked up only one point from four trips on the road in the group.

With a return fixture against Macedonia to come next month, the Welsh know successive home victories will put them in pole position to finish a respectable third in Group A, which would help improve their co-efficient for seeding at future qualification tournaments.

The home side are priced at 2/1 for what would be a morale boosting victory, while Serbia can be backed at 7/5 with Ladbrokes for their first away win of the qualification campaign. But with the visitor’s poor away record and a Wales side struggling for confidence, value can be found in the draw at 11/5.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.