Croatia will be aiming to maintain their unbeaten record in Group D of the European Championship qualifiers as they welcome Turkey to the Opus Arena. The Croats continue to play with confidence and driven by a solid defence, should have the upper hand over their visitors.
Croatia are in complete control of Group D as they sit top of the standings having played a game less than their rivals. They are yet to taste defeat in these qualifiers and have scored nine goals in four matches, conceding just once.
The Croats head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 1-0 victory in Armenia in their previous qualifying fixture. They struck early in the first half through Andrej Kramaric and were able to hold on for the win.
The manner of the victory in Armenia highlights how Croatia’s qualifying campaign has gone so far. Since conceding in their opening fixture against Wales, manager Zlatko Dalic has found a way to tighten up at the back and the World Cup semi-finalists have kept clean sheets in their last three matches.
Turkey are the closest challengers to Croatia in Group D as they sit level on 10 points with their hosts. However, they have played one game more and hold a record of three wins and a draw from five qualifying matches.
The Turks’ have lost just once in the qualifiers with their only defeat coming against Croatia as they were beaten 2-0 in the reverse fixture back in March. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Armenia in their previous outing with Bertug Yildirim salvaging a point two minutes from time.
One of the major problems for Turkey in recent times is their inability to keep things tight at the back. Vincenzo Montella’s men have kept just one clean sheet in these qualifiers and travel to the Opus Arena off the back of a 4-2 defeat to Japan in a friendly.
How the bookies view it
Croatia have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 7/10 by Betfred to claim the win. A victory for Turkey is valued at 24/5 by Coral while Paddy Power is offering odds of 5/2 for a draw.
Head to head
Croatia have a 4-2 advantage with five draws from 11 previous matches against Turkey. The Croats have already beaten their rivals in these qualifiers, picking up a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in March with Mateo Kovacic netting a brace.
Players to watch
Croatia’s campaign has been driven by a solid defence with the likes of Josko Gvardiol and Josip Sutalo often featuring at centre-back. They have kept clean sheets in their last three qualifying matches and will be targeting a similar outcome at 10/11 with bet365.
At the other end of the pitch, Andrej Kramaric has been the standout player for Croatia in these qualifiers. The forward has three goals in four qualifying matches and is priced at 7/4 by bet365 to find the net on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Croatia’s solid defensive record in these qualifiers, BTTS NO could be considered at 7/10 with BetVictor. The Croats have won to nil in their last three qualifying matches and a repeat is priced at 31/20 by BetVictor.
Having claimed a 5-0 victory over Latvia in their previous home fixture, Croatia could be backed in the -1 handicap market at 41/20 with Unibet.
This Euro 2024 match between Croatia and Turkey will be played on Oct 12, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Croatia vs Turkey prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
