Slovenia host Croatia at Stadion Stodice in the opening match of Group H in the European World Cup qualifiers. The Slovenians will be banking on their home record but the visitors boast plenty of quality and will fancy their chances in Ljubljana.
Croatia are hoping for a fresh start after a disappointing campaign in the UEFA Nations League where they only just avoided relegation. Their last outing was a 3-2 defeat to European champions Portugal with Matteo Kovacic getting their goals.
Zlatko Dalic’s men will fancy their chances in Group H and will consider Russia their biggest obstacle to qualification.
However, they have not been at their best in recent outings with no wins in their last four matches.
Croatia have fared slightly better on their travels and have suffered just one defeat their last three away matches. They claimed a 2-1 victory in Switzerland and also played out a 3-3 draw with Turkey.
Slovenia are coming off a 0-0 draw in Greece in the UEFA Nations League back in November. It was a drab encounter which saw them finish with just a single attempt on target in 90 minutes.
Matjaz Kek's men have been in good form in recent times and head into Wednesday’s clash unbeaten in their last eight matches. However, those matches have been against lower ranked teams and they could find it difficult making the step up against the former World Cup finalists.
Slovenia will be hoping to maintain their solid defensive record having kept clean sheets in five of their last six matches.
How the bookies view it
Croatia are considered favourites among the bookies and are priced to win at 13/15 by Vbet. Sport Nation has Slovenia to win at 9/2 while Betfred is offering 12/5 for a draw.
Because of their recent struggles, Croatia may find the going tough in Slovenia and both nations look likely to cancel each other out.
Head to head
Croatia have never lost to Slovenia with six wins and three draws from nine previous matches. They claimed a 3-2 victory in Maribor in the last meeting between both teams in a friendly back in 2008.
Players to watch
Slovenia boast one of the best goalkeepers in Europe with Jan Oblak between the sticks. He is likely to have a busy night against the Croats and will hope to guide the team to a clean sheet which is valued at 15/4 by William Hill.
Croatia also have some quality at the back with Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren and Duke Caleta-Car. They will be tasked with leading the team from the back. A win to nil for Croatia is priced at 24/13 by Sport Nation.
Anything else catch the eye?
A punt in the goals market could provide some value with Paddy Power offering 11/10 on both teams to score. Betfred has over 2.5 goals at odds of 5/4 while under 2.5 goals is set at 5/8 on Betfair.
This European match between Slovenia and Croatia will be played on Mar 24, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Slovenia vs Croatia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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