Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the Portugal team on Friday evening, yet the captain was unable to inspire the side against Ukraine.
The European champions' first game in qualifying for the 2020 edition of the tournament ended 0-0 and Fernando Santos will be hoping his side improves on Monday night against Serbia.
Serbia are likely to be Portugal's main competition in Group B and the Balkan nation earned a creditable draw in a friendly in Germany last Wednesday.
Latest odds
Portugal remain unbeaten in competitive fixtures on home soil since 2014 and William Hill offer the hosts at 6/10 (1.60) to pick up three points.
Getty ImagesSerbia, for their part, are unbeaten in the seven matches they have played since last summer's World Cup and are available at 5/1 (6.00) to win, with the draw at 11/4 (3.75).
Team news
Ronaldo started in a front three alongside Andre Silva and Bernardo Silva on Friday and we can expect a similar trident on Monday night. Sporting Club midfielder Bruno Fernandes have been pushing for a starting berth but is out injured.
Serbia are missing Aleksandar Kolarov with a thigh problem.
Preview
Since the World Cup, Serbia have been in strong scoring form and are playing with confidence.
In Luka Jovic they boast one of Europe's most in-form strikers and the on-loan Eintracht Frankfurt forward showed his pedigree once more on Wednesday to open the scoring against Germany.
Five different players have scored Serbia's last five goals, with the likes of Adem Ljajic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic providing quality from slightly deeper.
Portugal, meanwhile, have built a reputation for being strong defensively, yet they have only kept six clean sheets in their last 17 matches.
Tips and predictions
Any price better than even money for both teams to score is always worth considering and the odds of 11/10 (2.10) for neither team to keep a clean sheet looks extremely generous.
Both teams to score at 11/10 (2.10) for a 2pt stake with William Hill
William Hill