Read our prediction for Croatia vs Slovakia below. This preview was written by a sport journalist who is specialised in betting tips and predictions. Use our betting tips for the match between Croatia vs Slovakia and you can increase your winnings!
Croatia vs Slovakia Prediction & Betting tips
In Group E of the European Championship qualification, a great race awaits us on Saturday evening. Both Croatia and Slovakia are in the race for one of the two starting tickets for next year’s European Championship.
Croatia:
Vice-world champion Croatia has the best papers for direct EC qualification in this pool. The Balkan country is in the lead with fourteen points from seven games, and has to retain at least one point from its last group duel to secure its European Championship ticket.
In theory, that should not be a problem, since Croatia has never lost a European Championship qualification match to its own public since its independence. Nevertheless, the team is coach Zlatko Dalic who managed to capture the hearts of almost all football fans at the 2018 World Cup. The now 34-year-old captain and star player Luka Modric is on the way back, while his buddy Ivan Rakitic is not at all there due to an injury. Other important absences are Andrej Kramaric, Marko Pjaca, Domagoj Vida and Dejan Lovren, who have to cancel due to injuries and suspensions. Especially in the rear, Croatia is severely damaged, as Tin Jedvaj and Borna Barisic are the only two defenders with more than five caps behind their name. In midfield, there is still enough quality with Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, Ivan Perisic and Nikola Vlasic, among others.
Slovakia:
For Slovakia this is the international match. With ten points from six European Championship qualifiers and a provisional third place, the Eastern Europeans are likely to seize next to the European Championship qualification, but if they win their two remaining group matches, the loot would still be in. A tough task, but since the Leicester City league title you will no longer hear me say that something is impossible in modern football.
With Slovakia everything is still about the now 32-year-old playmaker Marek Hamsik, who nowadays earns a well-invested sandwich from the Chinese Dalian Yifang. The rest of the selection of national coach Pavel Hapal appeals a lot less to the imagination, although players like Milan Skriniar, Robert Mak and Stanislav Lobotka have earned their spurs in international football for quite some time. With only one defeat in their last six international matches, the Slovaks have not been doing badly lately, although that one defeat was a hefty 0-4 for their own audience against Croatia. So the visitors still have an apple to peel with their upcoming opponent on Saturday evening.
Croatia vs Slovakia head to head matches
06.09.19 EUR Slovakia Croatia 0 : 4
11.08.10 FI Slovakia Croatia 1 : 1
16.10.07 FI Croatia Slovakia 3 : 0
29.05.04 FI Croatia Slovakia 1 : 0
15.08.00 FI Slovakia Croatia 1 : 1