Serbian Superliga Power Rankings

A month in, who lies where...

A month into the season Serbian football has already had controversy, embarrassment and disorganisation. 

The usual, then. Where do the sides sit so far…

1st - Crvena Zvezda

Well, it was hardly going to be anyone else, was it. A slip against Mladost aside, Zvezda have looked every part the side that will win the title convincingly once more, highlighted by thrashings given to Novi Pazar and Cukaricki. 

They have defensive concerns and the Mladost game highlighted those, but the recruitment of Timi Max Elsnik appears to have given the midfield a bit of solidity and Seol, after an iffy debut, has begun to look like the top class full back Zvezda hired.

2nd - OFK Belgrade

Aleksandar Kahvic has scored four of their five goals and missed a penalty in that lot as well. How they’re winning games probably isn’t sustainable, but their one loss this season was against a Cukaricki side whom they defeated on xG 3.02-2.03. They were well worth their win over TSC so we’re talking about an OFK side who, as a promoted team, have played well and should have come away with six points against two of the biggest sides in the league. 

They need others to take some of the load, as Kahvic can’t be in this form for too long, but in amidst a supporting rank of sides, they’ve done the most to exceed expectations so far.

3rd - Partizan

Unbeaten. Haven’t even conceded.

So why are they third?

Because some of those games have been terrible. They barely deserved to scrape by Napredak on the opening day (a Napredak who weren’t playing at home but at Partizan because of work going on at their ground). Their 0-0 draw against IMT was soon forgotten in the light of post-match comments due to a contentious refereeing decision but, let’s state it for the record, IMT were absolutely the better side for those 90 minutes. Zeleznicar won the xG but lost on the scoresheet.

Oh, and there’s the small matter of your now annual “Partizan getting demolished in Europe” tradition as Dynamo Kiev inflicted their worst ever European two legged defeat in the Champions League. They aren’t the second best side in the league at the minute and a post-Euro Qualifiers stretch of Vojvodina, OFK then Zvezda could see them come crashing to earth.

4th - Cukaricki

They were fortunate to beat OFK and Zvezda shellacked them but they handled Radnicki Nis and Vojvodina with ease. Vini Mello continues to look like an inspired pick-up - his goal against Crvena Zvezda was a particularly inspired bit of forward play and while he is still raw, it’s hard not to think that he’s destined for a decent move sooner rather than later. Lazar Tufegdzic has settled in well also. If they can pick up nine points from their next three games, that’s a springboard for Europe.

5th - TSC

Hmm. I’m not a huge Klafuric fan and their Europa League playoff will be vital for the direction of the club in terms of giving them something to build from. Their open has been near identical to Cukaricki but where Cukaricki beat Radnicki Nis, TSC lost, but beat Vojvodina by the same 3-1 Cukaricki did. While the players brought in this summer were promising, it’s fair to say they haven’t hit the ground running and there’s a reliance on the likes of Milos Pantovic and Aleksandar Cirkovic to liven things up, much as there was last term. This is a work in progress that needs a big result to cling on to.

6th - Radnicki Nis

Sat with a game in hand because of Partizan postponing their latest match, it’s been a very different side home and away so far - 4-1 aggregate in the two home games, 0-6 in the two away. Beating TSC is a scalp though and while Radnicki Kragujevac battered them, there’s been more to like than not so far this term and even in that loss in Kragujevac, Radnicki Nis were much more in that game than the 4-0 defeat scoreline suggests. Consistency might not be there yet, but something’s cooking.

7th - Vojvodina

Vosa sit 14th but, let’s be honest, the season starts here for them. If you were to pick games you didn’t want in between European ties, you’d pick away to Cukaricki and the local derby vs TSC. Losing both 3-1 isn’t idea but look at their level of performance continentally - they hung with Ajax for 150 of the 180 mins before the Dutch giants took the tie away from them, they took a very good Maribor side to penalties. This is a side that appear to be performing as they should that just have had an absolute mare of a fixture list to open things up. Out of the Thursday-Sunday routine now, what we see vs Napredak and Partizan over the next couple of weekends will be much more representative.

8th - Zeleznicar

IMT, Jedinstvo Ub and a Radnicki Kragujevac side mid-Confernece League tie. If we’ve just stated Vojvodina had the worst when it comes to schedule, Zeleznicar have had the best and have made the most of it so far. Between here and October, it’s far, far harder for them.

9th - Novi Pazar

Ljajic and 10 other jobbers? It does feel a little that way so far as the squad haven’t quite clicked yet. They should have beaten Mladost this weekend but deserved their zero points for their profligacy and their openness when countered on the break. Their craft is their strength and physicality their weakness - if they can knit together and make the former more effective, they will soon do well.

10th - Mladost

Tick tock, it’s Lalatovic O’clock. Serbia’s most combustible manager joined the Uranium Boys last week and immediately won his first go against Novi Pazar. There’s no doubt at all that, at his best, Lalatovic can galvanise a side into a very interesting proposition. We haven’t seen his best for a couple of seasons, however.

11th - Napredak

Napredak could have beaten Partizan on the opening day and they’d have been higher up this list if they had. Things have been so far, so Napredak - they brought in a boatload of signings and look very mid. Their next three are Vojvodina, OFK and Zvezda - is 6 points at this stage really enough to break the top 8? By the end of this run, we’ll know if they’re in touch or not.

12th - Spartak

Meh.

13th - Radnicki Kragujevac

A good portion of them being low is that they lost in Europe to Mornar, a true minnow, and they were lucky to take it to penalties. They round off August with OFK and Zvezda and, similarly to Napredak, we should know where they lie after this hard run is over, but they sit that little bit behind Napredak in the table and so they must also here.

14th - IMT

Twh points from four isn’t ideal but that included TSC and Partizan and they really should have taken all three against Partizan. No wins but also not really much in the way of winnable ones is not a disappointing open to the season. Jedinstvo Ub up next? That’s the first winnable one and they’ve got to show it.

15th - Tekstilac

Ivan Davidovic has taken to the step up with aplomb but let’s not bet that that will carry on that long. This is still a squad not ready for this level and failing to beat Jedinstvo suggests that they’ll be in trouble.

16th - Jedinstvo Ub

It’s not their fault their opening two games were against Partizan and Zvezda but they are bottom on merit. Their only point so far came vs Tekstilac, a side who, on paper, aren’t equipped for this level. While their first two games perhaps excuse their defensive record, they’ve still only scored twice and no side has given Partizan an easier time so far this term. Miles off where they need to be.