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International friendlies are routinely labelled as meaningless, and never more so than at the end of a long domestic season.

But there is a surprising amount at stake for Vladimir Petrovic and his players at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

First and foremost, the clash is a revenge mission - Serbia lost their first and only meeting with Australia 2-1 at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Goals from Tim Cahill and Brett Holman in Nelspruit left Serbia bottom of Group D.

And their failure to progress saw Radomir Antic depart as coach, with former Red Star Belgrade player and manager Petrovic hired as his replacement in September.

Avenging that group-stage exit is not Serbia's sole motivation.

There is also the small matter of approximately 95,000 Serbian-Australians, all of whom are candidates to forget their regular Socceroo loyalties and cheer on Petrovic's side.

"As you know, Australia has a better score against our national team in the past and they have a good quality team," Petrovic said.

"But for sure, I believe the supporters have a good chance to enjoy a good game. And I expect a big support from our side, from Serbians who live in Australia.

"Maybe you don't know - it was more than 100 Serbs who waited for us at the airport, near the plane and in front of the building.

"I was really surprised. (But) I know that we would have nice support, a nice welcome here, because a lot of our people live and work here.

"And our players understand the obligation to be at their best level here, because after we leave here our endeavours on the pitch will mean so much to them."

'Obligation' is an interesting word for Petrovic to use.

Most international players would surely feel obliged to deliver if they received the sort of fanatical support Serbia often enjoy.

But such dedication - some would say obsession - has a dark underbelly.

It reared its head in Genoa last year, when premeditated violence from some Serbian supporters saw October's European Championship qualifier against Italy abandoned, and the points awarded to the hosts.

There was another instance in the lead-up to the World Cup, when Serbian fans rioted during a 1-0 defeat to New Zealand in Austria.

Taking to the field in the knowledge that a poor performance or off-field issues could lead to violence in the stands cannot be an ideal situation for any professional.

But for Petrovic and his players, incidents like those seen at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris are an unfortunate fact of representing their country, but not one that makes them any less proud to pull on a Serbia shirt.

"For us that is in the past and we have forgotten it," Petkrovic said. "That was just one game, a stain in our history.

"Ok, maybe it was a different or special game, like some derbies we have played, but we have tried to forget for those things.

"This is a friendly. We will play without pressure, and that's the good way to show what your strongest weapons are because under pressure, you can't play the best way."

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