Croatia U21 vs. England U21 Betting Tips, Prediction & Odds
Round 3 of the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group C starts with a tilt between two eliminated teams, Croatia and England.
Croatia U21 vs. England U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship
- San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino
- Monday24 June
- 20:00 UK Time
Croatia U21 vs. England U21 Game Preview
Croatia and England are still without a single point at this European Under-21 Championship and they are already eliminated from this competition. This clash is not important in terms of classification but the players will be eager to finally book first points, so we can expect an interesting encounter.
Croatia U21 Team News and Latest Form
Croatia suffered a couple of defeats in the first two games at this year’s European Under-21 Championship and now they will try to at least get one point before return back home. They had a chance to bounce back against France but an early Moussa Dembele’s goal pretty much ruined their plans.
However, a heavy, 4-1 loss to Romania in the opening match certainly hurt the Young Blazers who were favourites to start the competition with a win. They were pretty toothless against France, failing to attempt a single shot on target.
Head coach Nenad Gracan will likely make many changes for the clash with England and we shouldn’t be surprised if he changes his entire starting line-up. Although it sounds peculiar, the game against France was Croatia’s first since 2013 in which they didn’t score but considering England’s poor defence, they will likely get back on a scoreboard in this one.
England U21 Team News and Latest Form
England have been disappointing in the European Under 21 Championship given they were the favourites to win the tournament. An unlucky defeat to France could be forgotten if they managed to beat Romania but defensive fragility once again was a major problem for Aidy Boothroyd. Poor displays in Italy will probably cost Boothroyd his job as conceding six goals in two games is not something he can be proud of.
Now, the Young Lions are eliminated out of the competition but will give everything they have to at least restore some pride against Croatia. It seems that Boothroyd struggles to combine his starting eleven and therefore it is extremely hard to predict which player will get a starting nod in this one.
Attackers missed a ton of opportunities against Romania but England found the back of the net in each of their last nine matches, and with Croatia’s leaky defence, they should not have problems to score at least one here.
Croatia U21 vs. England U21 Head to Head
Croatia and England have faced twice before and it was in space of just four days back in October 2014 when England secured a pair of identical 2-1 victories.
Croatia U21 vs. England U21 Betting Tip
I am not going to use H2H duels to predict the outcome of this encounter but it is hard to expect the respective teams will be able to keep their net intact in this one. Along with Serbia’s disastrous defence, these two belong to the weakest at this European Under-21 Championship and I would be shocked if we don’t see a bunch of goals. Even after all we saw so far at the tournament, England still have a better team and more quality and that’s why I am backing them to get three points at 2/3 with Betfair. If you are not happy with these odds, which could be bigger considering England’s performance at the competition, you can always opt for a bit riskier option and back the Young Lions to get a win with both teams scoring at 11/5 with 22Bet.
