Petrović avoids Serbia shake-up

Serbia coach Vladimir Petrović has backed up his stated aim of overseeing an evolution, rather than a revolution, by naming a familiar-looking party for the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifiers against Estonia and Italy on 8 and 12 October.

Petrović has made only three changes to the squad, selected by predecessor Radomir Antić, that kicked off Group C last month with victory in the Faroe Islands and a 1-1 home draw with Slovenia. Defender Marko Lomić and goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković return to the reckoning while another defender, Slobodan Rajković, is promoted from the Under-21s.

"I don't want to make wholesale changes but it's possible I will move a few players around the pitch," said Petrović. "Estonia have made big strides in recent years and we must be prepared for a stiff test – games like these are the hardest. We're not thinking about Italy yet, but I'm sure everybody will be at their best that night." His new charges face Estonia in Belgrade before tackling the Azzurri in Genoa.

Serbia squad
Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojković (FK Partizan), Andjelko Djuričić (UD Leiria), Željko Brkić (FK Vojvodina).

Defenders: Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea FC), Pavle Ninkov (FK Crvena Zvezda), Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United FC), Neven Subotić (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Luković (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Slobodan Rajković (Vitesse), Ivan Obradović (Real Zaragoza), Marko Lomić (FC Dinamo Moskva).

Midfielders: Dejan Stanković (FC Internazionale Milano), Gojko Kačar (Hamburger SV), Nenad Milijaš (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Zdravko Kuzmanović (VfB Stuttgart), Radosav Petrović (FK Partizan), Miloš Krasić (Juventus), Zoran Tošić (PFC CSKA Moskva), Miloš Ninković (FC Dynamo Kyiv).

Forwards: Milan Jovanović (Liverpool FC), Nikola Žigić (Birmingham City FC), Danko Lazović (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Dragan Mrdja (FC Sion).