Serbia skipper Branislav Ivanovic believes Wales will be out for revenge in their 2018 World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
Wales were thrashed 6-1 and 3-0 by Serbia in 2014 World Cup qualifying, with Chelsea defender Ivanovic playing in both games.
Dragons boss Chris Coleman has said Wales still carry a ‘scar’ from those defeats, and Ivanovic insists the Group D leaders are prepared for a Welsh backlash at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Asked if he felt Wales had extra motivation following those defeats, Ivanovic replied: “Yes, definitely. We know that and we have to be careful with that.
“We have to play much better than the last time to get something from the game because Wales is a completely different team from that moment.
“That kind of game (Serbia’s 6-1 victory in Novi Sad in September 2012) maybe happens one time in 100 years.”
Exactly a year later, Serbia became the last visitors to win a competitive game on Welsh soil when they claimed another comprehensive victory.
But since then Wales ended their 58-year wait to play at a major finals and made it all the way to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 last summer.
“I said when we started this group it is very difficult to win against one team three times in a row, even when the opponent is not that strong, and you can not say that of Wales,’ Ivanovic said.
“They have Gareth Bale, who is the biggest star for Wales, but as a group they have been together for a couple of years and have got results.
“This is our first big away game and we are only thinking of how to perform and be on the same level as our first three games.
“We will see how the game will go, but this is definitely our hardest game in qualification so far.”
Serbia top the group on goal difference from the Republic of Ireland after taking seven points from their first three games.
They opened up with a 2-2 draw at home to Ireland before enjoying October victories against Moldova and Austria.
It is a very different story to a dreadful Euro 2016 qualifying campaign which saw them win only twice in eight qualifiers and eventually saw the experienced Slavoljub Muslin appointed as head coach.
Ivanovic said: “It is a lot of things (the improvement) but one of the most important is the new coach and the new shape of the team.
“We are still building but we are in a good moment. We are going in the right direction, but the way to Russia is so long and we have to be really careful.
“We must play every single game like a final and play-off.
“But we don’t have that extra pressure which is very important for the team to start the qualification group well.”
