Croatia vs Slovakia
Croatia and Slovakia are in World Cup 2022 qualifying action on Monday at the Gradski Stadium in a match which could pile more pressure on the visitors.
A late striker from Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic won the return match 0-1 in
Slovakia just a month ago, and since then the two nations fortunes have gone in different ways as Croatia have climbed to the top of Group H while Slovakia, in fourth, are in a tricky position.
There’s plenty more international action for SBOTOP football fans to enjoy this week and this in one of the big picks of the European games. Zlatco Dalic’s Croatia were 2018 World Cup finalists, but while Slovakia have been a more than handy side over the past decade, they find themselves in a bit of a rut.
There could me more Monday misery for Stefan Tarkovic’s Slovakia if Croatia, as expected, take another big stride towards Qatar 2022.
Talking Points
Modric is still the man for Croatia
The Croats come into the game on the back of a 0-3 win in Cyprus, hot on the heels of a win by the same score-line against Slovenia. And with his 18 goals, from a record 143 appearances, the 36 year old Real Madrid playmaker, Luka Modric, is still one of the best in the business and Croatia’s go to man. After a frustrating first 45 minutes in Cyprus, Modric set up Ivan Perisic for the vital opener in first half stoppage time; then Josko Gvardial and Marko Livaja made the score more comfortable as Croatia moved level with Russia on 16 points.
Modric is at the heart of an imposing midfield which includes Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic and Inter Milan’s Brozovic. These are players who have achieved great success at club level, as Champions League champions and Scudetto winners, and they are still a force to be reckoned with.
One or both of Torino’s striker Josip Brekalo and Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric are likely to start up front but they will get plenty of support around the edge of the penalty area from Modric and Perisic.
Slovakia have work to do
Stefan Tarkovic’s Slovakia come into the game on the back of a trip to Russia which ended in an undeserved defeat, after they dominated for much of the game and played the better football in patches but then went down to an own goal. When Russia’s Arsen Zakharyan sent in a dangerous cross Milan Skriniar tried to clear, but he could only deflect it past keeper Marek Rodak and into the net. It was a serious blow to Slovakia’s qualification chances and ironic that their best player was at fault.
The Slovaks could still have salvaged a positive result had it not been for Russia’s keeper Matvei Safonov making a great save from Lukas Haraslin, while Ondrej Duda also came close with a drive which flew inches wide. But with the week’s World Cup 2022 results going against them Slovakia now stand fourth in the Group H table, a point behind Slovenia and seven behind the leaders, and they have an uphill task to qualify. They certainly don’t want the hill to turn rapidly into a mountain!
History
While Croatia were one step away from being World Champions, just three years ago, Slovakia qualified for their first World Cup in 2010 and reached the round of 16 as a young Marek Hamsik took the football world by storm. The influential Hamsik, now 34, could well feature for Slovakia on Monday.
The Croats have won five of the six meetings between the two sides, drawing the other, and winning the last three.
Since losing twice at Euro 2020, to England and Spain, Croatia are unbeaten in four, winning the last three with a goal difference of seven to zero. Meanwhile the Slovaks have won once against Cyprus, drawn with Slovenia and lost to both Croatia and Russia.
In fact, with a symmetry favouring the hosts, Croatia have won four, drawn one and lost one of the last six games, while Slovakia have won one, drawn one and lost four.
And to make matters worse for the visitors, they have not won on the road in five attempts.
Betting Tip
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Croatia vs Slovakia | Croatia Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 1.85 |
| October 12, 02:45 (GMT+8) |
The pre-match Croatia vs Slovakia betting odds reckon it’s a home win all the way with the Slovaks at odds of 2.03 with a plus 1.00 goal advantage.
For an alternative bet, over 2.50 goals is at odds of 2.00 while under 2.50 is more likely at 1.78, and we could well see a repeat of the 1-0 Croatia win last month.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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