Croatia begin their campaign in Group A1 of the UEFA Nations League with a home game against Austria on Friday. The Croats are currently on a lengthy unbeaten run and should have too much for the visitors.
The Croats are currently on a fine run of form and are unbeaten since losing to Spain in the knockout stage of Euro 2020. Zlatko Dalic’s men have claimed six wins and three draws from their last nine matches across all competitions.
Croatia often do their best work at home and are unbeaten in their last five matches in front of their fans, claiming three wins in that run. Their last international fixture was a 2-1 home victory over Bulgaria in a friendly back in March.
After failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Austria will be seeking a fresh start under new manager Ralf Rangnick. They gained promotion to the elite level of the UNL after finishing top of Group B1 in the last edition of the competition.
Things have not been particularly smooth for Austria lately as they have claimed just three wins from their last eight matches across all competitions. They have been beaten four times in that run but played out a 2-2 draw with Scotland in a friendly back in March.
Travelling has also been a problem for Austria, who have suffered three defeats in their last four away matches across all competitions. Their last fixture away from home was a 2-1 defeat in Wales in their final World Cup qualifying fixture.
How the bookies view it
Croatia have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 11/10 by SBK to claim the win. A victory for Austria is valued at 29/10 by Coral while SBK is also offering odds of 40/17 for a draw.
Head to head
Croatia have won all five previous matches against Austria with the most recent meeting, a 1-0 victory in a friendly back in 2010.
Players to watch
Croatia are without Ivan Perisic, so Andrej Kramaric will be the one tasked with providing the spark in attack. The striker has four goals in his last five matches for the national team and could be backed to once again get on the score sheet at 7/4 with Paddy Power.
Marco Arnautovic is coming off a fine season with Serie A side Bologna and will be the one to watch for Austria. The forward has five goals in his last seven international appearances and is priced at 11/5 by Paddy Power to find the net on Friday.
Anything else catch eye?
Given the attacking quality both teams possess, an open contest is predicted on Friday. Both clubs could be backed to score at 22/23 with SBK, while over 2.5 goals is valued at 6/5 by Unibet with over 3.5 goals priced at 10/3 by BetVictor.
Both teams have scored some late goals in recent matches which means the second half could be tipped as the highest scoring half at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This UEFA Nations League match between Croatia and Austria will be played on Jun 3, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Croatia vs Austria prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.