After being denied by some late drama in their opening Group D fixture, Croatia travel to Turkey seeking their first win of the qualifiers. Both teams boast talented squads and appear evenly matched heading into Tuesday’s clash.
Turkey began their qualifying campaign with a 2-1 victory over Armenia in their opening fixture last Saturday. They fought back from a goal down with Orkun Kokcu getting the equaliser before Kerem Akturkoglu struck the winner midway through the second half.
It was a good start to the campaign for Turkey as they look to fend off the likes of Wales and Croatia, who have been used to reaching major tournaments lately. That result also extends their recent good form as they have now won their last three matches.
Turkey will head into Tuesday’s clash with a solid home record having lost just once in their last nine matches in front of their fans. Defending remains a problem for Stefan Kuntz’s men, however, as they have conceded five goals in their last three matches in that run.
Croatia will be disappointed with the outcome of their opening fixture as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Wales. They led at the break thanks to Andrej Kramaric’s effort and went on to miss several chances before conceding the equaliser deep into added time.
Given the quality of the other teams in the group, the result will be considered a minor setback and Croatia will be confident of making next year’s tournament. However, Zlatko Dalic’s men will be keen to avoid falling further behind in the early running.
Croatia have only lost once in their last 14 matches across all competitions, a run that culminated in a semi-final berth at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. However, like Turkey, they have also struggled defensively, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches.
How the bookies view it
Croatia have the edge among the bookies and are priced at 25/19 by SBK to claim the win. A victory for Turkey is valued at 12/5 by 10bet while bet365 is also offering odds of 12/5 for a draw.
Head to head
Croatia have a 3-2 edge with five draws from 10 previous matches against Turkey. The last two meetings in Turkey have ended in draws, including a 3-3 scoreline in a friendly back in 2020.
Players to watch
Cengiz Under could be worth keeping am eye on for Turkey with the forward often impressing for the national team. He has scored four times in the last six home matches and is priced at 4/1 by Paddy Power to find the net on Tuesday.
Andrej Kramaric remains a major attacking threat for Croatia and will be the one to watch on Tuesday. The forward was on target last time out against Wales and is priced at 5/2 by Paddy Power to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
It was a six-goal thriller in the previous meeting between Turkey and Croatia and with neither team particularly convincing at the back lately, another open encounter can be expected. Over 3.5 goals is priced at 10/3 by BetVictor, who are also offering 6/5 for over 2.5 goals while both teams could be backed to score at 9/10 with SBK.
A closely fought opening is expected on Tuesday which means the second half can be tipped to produce the most goals at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This Euro 2024 match between Turkey and Croatia will be played on Mar 28, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Turkey vs Croatia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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