Croatia
WC Qualification Europe
Group Stage
Sat , Mar 27 , 2021 18:00
1 - 0
Cyprus
Croatia
Cyprus
1 - 0
After a hard defeat away to Slovenia in midweek, Croatia is expected to get their Group H campaign up and running against the Cypriots on Saturday. Read our reasons for Croatia vs Cyprus prediction and betting tips.
The hosts suffered a 1-0 defeat in their opening fixture of the qualifying campaign against Slovenia. Croatia struggled in a neighbor derby, finding it hard to break the opposition but what was major fear is the lack of motivation of the visiting players that were unable to find the creativity in the final third. Croatia is one of the major favorites for the first place of Group H along with Russia, and easily the best of the two as well in terms of talent and experience. After appearing in the World Cup Final of 2018 and losing against France they are trying to establish themselves as a major football force and continue with the momentum in their favor.
They are going through a troubling spell at the moment, and they seem unable to shake it off, with the several players out with injuries, Rakitic withdrawal from the national team. They have a chip on their shoulder, football fans were dissatisfied with their performance and coach Dalić was criticized publicly in several media outlets. They are still were able to turn things around as they are often in similar situations as slow starters. Croatia manager Dalic affirmed that Borna Barisic's substitution at halftime was down to fears of the Rangers man being sent off, but the left-back will hope to be given another chance this weekend. Atalanta's Mario Pasalic could provide some fresh legs in midfield as Croatia aims to make the net ripple, while Josip Brekalo and Mislav Orsic are both candidates to replace Ivan Perisic on the left flank. With Ante Rebic and Bruno Petkovic both nursing injuries, Andrej Kramaric should continue to spearhead the attack over Ante Budimir.
Croatia: Livakovic; Vrsaljko, Caleta-Car, Lovren, Barisic; Modric, Kovacic; Vlasic, Pasalic, Perisic; Kramaric
Cyprus held Slovakia to a goalless draw on Wednesday night. Nikos Kostenoglou’s men were on a very bad run, they were also conceding plenty, and their performances in recent UEFA Nations League, Euro qualifiers as well, and in World Cup Qualifiers have been below their usual level. They failed to qualify for the 2016 & 2021 Euros, and the 2018 World Cup, but that was expected, but on the other side, their recent games showed that they are in downfall despite some success of their clubs in European competitions. Only their win against Luxembourg in the last round of the UNL prevented their relegation from League D. They were winless in 11 of their last 12 overall matches, and in the process had gone on a seven-game losing run. They were also winless in 20 of their past 23 road trips and had lost a worrying 18 of these match-ups.
For the worst, they match the wounded Croatia that has to make the most of this fixture and secure a win this weekend. Cyprus has no reason to make any alterations after a solid first game, but goalkeeper Dimitris Dimitriou and winger Ioannis Pittas will miss their third game with Slovenia if they pick up bookings. Hibernian midfielder Alex Gogic will hope to earn his fifth cap for the national team here, while Pieros Sotiriou is two strikes away from matching Constantinos Charalambidis - the country's third-highest goalscorer - in the charts.
Cyprus: Dimitriou; Psaltis, K. Sotiriou, Laifis, Ioannou; Artymatas, Kyriakou, Kastanos; Papoulis, P. Sotiriou, Pittas
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There is a clear difference in the quality of the squads, which will be a major factor in determining the outcome of the game, the home team is a big favorite and any other result will be a major surprise. BettingKick’s Croatia vs Cyprus prediction: Home team win.
4-2-3-1
4-3-3
Croatia
Cyprus
11.10.2021. | Croatia | VS | Slovakia | 2-2 |
D
|
08.10.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Croatia | 0-3 |
W
|
07.09.2021. | Croatia | VS | Slovenia | 3-0 |
W
|
04.09.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Croatia | 0-1 |
W
|
01.09.2021. | Russia | VS | Croatia | 0-0 |
D
|
28.06.2021. | Croatia | VS | Spain | 3-3 |
L
|
22.06.2021. | Croatia | VS | Scotland | 3-1 |
W
|
18.06.2021. | Croatia | VS | Czech Republic | 1-1 |
D
|
13.06.2021. | England | VS | Croatia | 1-0 |
L
|
06.06.2021. | Belgium | VS | Croatia | 1-0 |
L
|
11.10.2021. | Croatia | VS | Slovakia | 2-2 |
D
|
07.09.2021. | Croatia | VS | Slovenia | 3-0 |
W
|
28.06.2021. | Croatia | VS | Spain | 3-3 |
L
|
22.06.2021. | Croatia | VS | Scotland | 3-1 |
W
|
18.06.2021. | Croatia | VS | Czech Republic | 1-1 |
D
|
01.06.2021. | Croatia | VS | Armenia | 1-1 |
D
|
30.03.2021. | Croatia | VS | Malta | 3-0 |
W
|
27.03.2021. | Croatia | VS | Cyprus | 1-0 |
W
|
17.11.2020. | Croatia | VS | Portugal | 2-3 |
L
|
14.10.2020. | Croatia | VS | France | 1-2 |
L
|
08.10.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Croatia | 0-3 |
W
|
04.09.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Croatia | 0-1 |
W
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01.09.2021. | Russia | VS | Croatia | 0-0 |
D
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13.06.2021. | England | VS | Croatia | 1-0 |
L
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06.06.2021. | Belgium | VS | Croatia | 1-0 |
L
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24.03.2021. | Slovenia | VS | Croatia | 1-0 |
L
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14.11.2020. | Sweden | VS | Croatia | 2-1 |
L
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11.11.2020. | Turkey | VS | Croatia | 3-3 |
D
|
07.10.2020. | Switzerland | VS | Croatia | 1-2 |
W
|
08.09.2020. | France | VS | Croatia | 4-2 |
L
|
11.10.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Malta | 2-2 |
D
|
08.10.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Croatia | 0-3 |
L
|
07.09.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Cyprus | 2-0 |
L
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04.09.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Russia | 0-2 |
L
|
01.09.2021. | Malta | VS | Cyprus | 3-0 |
L
|
07.06.2021. | Ukraine | VS | Cyprus | 4-0 |
L
|
04.06.2021. | Hungary | VS | Cyprus | 1-0 |
L
|
30.03.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Slovenia | 1-0 |
W
|
27.03.2021. | Croatia | VS | Cyprus | 1-0 |
L
|
24.03.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Slovakia | 0-0 |
D
|
11.10.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Malta | 2-2 |
D
|
08.10.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Croatia | 0-3 |
L
|
04.09.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Russia | 0-2 |
L
|
30.03.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Slovenia | 1-0 |
W
|
24.03.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Slovakia | 0-0 |
D
|
14.11.2020. | Cyprus | VS | Luxembourg | 2-1 |
W
|
07.10.2020. | Cyprus | VS | Czech Republic | 1-2 |
L
|
08.09.2020. | Cyprus | VS | Azerbaijan | 0-1 |
L
|
05.09.2020. | Cyprus | VS | Montenegro | 0-2 |
L
|
16.11.2019. | Cyprus | VS | Scotland | 1-2 |
L
|
07.09.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Cyprus | 2-0 |
L
|
01.09.2021. | Malta | VS | Cyprus | 3-0 |
L
|
07.06.2021. | Ukraine | VS | Cyprus | 4-0 |
L
|
04.06.2021. | Hungary | VS | Cyprus | 1-0 |
L
|
27.03.2021. | Croatia | VS | Cyprus | 1-0 |
L
|
17.11.2020. | Montenegro | VS | Cyprus | 4-0 |
L
|
11.11.2020. | Greece | VS | Cyprus | 2-1 |
L
|
13.10.2020. | Azerbaijan | VS | Cyprus | 0-0 |
D
|
10.10.2020. | Luxembourg | VS | Cyprus | 2-0 |
L
|
19.11.2019. | Belgium | VS | Cyprus | 6-1 |
L
|
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Daniel Garcia is originally from Basque Country, and as a kid who grew up just a few streets from Mendizorrotza Stadium, the choice of Deportivo Alavés as his favourite club is more than obvious. Because of his studies, he moved to Madrid where he graduated in Sports Journalism. Daniel plays football on the weekends, but that does not stop him from watching all La Liga matches. He believes that the outcome of a match can be predicted if all the parameters are analyzed well, including form of the players and weather conditions. Currently he is living in Belgrade, and is in love with a Serbian girl who works as a journalist at one of the famous Sport Channels in Serbia.