FK Čukarički welcome FK Radnik Surdulica to Belgrade on Saturday afternoon in the Mozzart Bet Superliga Championship Round, and it’s a proper tight one between two sides separated by just a point in the table. Čukarički are seventh on 40 points, Radnik sit eighth on 39, and both clubs know this phase of the season is about finishing strongly rather than scrambling. There’s no title drama here, but there is pride, momentum and a decent slice of prize-money relevance on the line. Neither side can afford to drift.
For Marko Jaksic’s Čukarički, home advantage matters. They’ve been sturdier at their own ground all season and have enough about them to believe they can edge it. Predrag Randjelovic’s Radnik, though, are awkward enough to make this uncomfortable. They’ve been collecting draws, hanging around games and refusing to go away. The recent meetings have also had a bit of spice to them, so this isn’t the sort of fixture where either manager will breathe easily. Not at all.
The broader story is simple enough: Čukarički have been a touch more reliable in Belgrade, while Radnik’s away record has left them vulnerable on the road. That gap isn’t huge, but it’s there. And in a match between seventh and eighth, tiny margins tend to decide everything.
FK Čukarički Form & Analysis
Čukarički arrive here without a defeat in four, and that little run has kept them nicely placed in the Championship Round pack. Their last two outings have both finished 0-0, first at home to Radnički 1923 on 9 April and then away at Partizan on 5 April. Those are respectable results, especially the point in Belgrade against Partizan, but they also tell you something about the current tone of their football. They’re organised. They’re hard to break down. They’re not exactly exploding in front of goal, either.
Before those draws, the pattern was a bit more open. They beat Železničar Pančevo 3-2 at home on 21 March, drew 1-1 at Novi Pazar on 14 March, lost narrowly 1-0 away to Javor Ivanjica on 7 March, then beat Mladost Lučani 3-1 at home on 28 February. That’s a decent spread of results, and it paints a clear picture: when Čukarički are on the front foot in Belgrade, they can hurt teams. When they’re dragged into tighter away battles, they’re much less convincing. Four matches unbeaten is useful. But they’ve only won once in their last five.
The home numbers are the part Jaksic will lean on. Čukarički have won seven, drawn five and lost three at home, scoring 26 and conceding 20. That’s a solid return, not a spectacular one, but it’s the sort of record that gives you a platform. They’re usually competitive on their own pitch, and the recent 0-0 against Radnički 1923 fits that wider picture of control without complete dominance. Their home games have tended to stay relatively tight, and they’ve shown enough defensive structure to keep themselves in matches. The flip side? They’ve also left goals on the table. A side with 26 home goals in 15 games is useful, not ruthless.
There’s also a slight edge in the way they’ve handled this kind of opponent before. Čukarički don’t need to blow Radnik away. They need to stay patient, keep their shape and trust that a stronger home base will tell over 90 minutes. That’s been their season in a nutshell. Nothing flashy. Just enough.
FK Radnik Surdulica Form & Analysis
Radnik Surdulica come into this on the back of a 0-0 draw away at OFK Beograd on 9 April, and that result says plenty about where they are right now. They dug in, sure, but the numbers behind it were grim for an attacking side — just 0.14 xG, only two shots, and a lot of chasing without the ball. Still, a point away from home is a point, and in a tight section of the table that matters. They’ve now gone two league matches without a win, which isn’t disastrous, but it does leave them with a slightly flat feel.
Their earlier games were a mixed bag. They lost 2-1 at home to Crvena zvezda on 5 April, which is no shame in itself, but the home draw with Javor Ivanjica, the 2-2 against Radnički Niš, the 0-0 at IMT Beograd and the 3-1 win away at Spartak Subotica show a team that can be difficult to pin down. They’re not collapsing. They’re just not putting enough clean performances together to take control of a run of fixtures. One good away win at Spartak stands out. The rest have been much more stop-start.
The away record is the obvious concern. Radnik have taken just 14 points on the road, with three wins, five draws and seven defeats, and they’ve only scored 14 away goals while conceding 19. That’s not the profile of a team you trust in a tough trip to Belgrade. They can stay in games, yes. They’ve shown that. But when the attack dries up, they struggle to force the issue. The recent blank at OFK Beograd and the low attacking output in that match were a reminder of the problem. Can they keep it up on the road? Probably not over a full 90 here.
Mind you, they’re not a soft touch. The one thing Radnik do have is resilience. They’ve drawn plenty of matches, and even in defeat they rarely look completely out of their depth. But resilience only gets you so far when your away record is this ordinary. They need a sharper edge in the final third, and it’s hard to see where that sudden spark comes from at Čukarički’s ground.
Head-to-Head
These two have developed a fairly familiar pattern over the last few meetings. Čukarički were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Radnik on 13 December 2025, but before that Radnik had beaten them 3-1 in Surdulica in August. Go a little further back and the balance tilts back towards Čukarički, who won 3-0 away in February 2024, 1-0 away in the cup in May 2023, and 1-0 at home in March 2023. There’s also that 4-0 away win for Čukarički in September 2022. One direction, then the other. That’s been the story.
The most useful angle from the head-to-head is simple enough: Čukarički have often found a way to edge this fixture when they’re the more settled side, while Radnik have been capable of causing trouble when they get the first punch in. The 1-1 last December feels quite relevant here. This probably won’t be one-way traffic. But the longer-term edge still leans toward the home side.
We Predict: Home Win
We’re backing FK Čukarički to win at 5/6 here. It’s a fair price for a team with a stronger home record, a point advantage in the table and a much better recent defensive shape than the away side have shown on their travels. Radnik’s away record is the weak link. Three wins from 15 away matches just isn’t enough to inspire much confidence, especially when they’ve only managed 14 goals on the road.
The 2-1 scoreline feels about right. Čukarički should have enough quality and control in Belgrade to edge a game that probably won’t explode into chaos. Radnik can score — they’ve shown that often enough — so a clean sheet for the hosts doesn’t feel like the safest shout. Still, the home side’s superior balance and better habit of winning tight games make them the call. If you wanted a safer route, Čukarički in the double chance market would be the conservative alternative, but the straight home win is the better play.
