Greece travel to Zagreb to face in-form Croatia in an entertaining looking, two-legged encounter with a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia at stake. Both teams will be desperate to secure their place at the World Cup which will add huge drama to the match. Croatia hired new head coach Zlatko Dalic during the latter stages of the group stages in an attempt to inspire them towards World Cup qualification.
World Cup Qualifiers Playoff – Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb – Thursday 9th November – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 18/5 at Unibet |
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Croatia
GreeceCroatia Form
Their 2-0 win in Ukraine fired them into the play-offs with former Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric bagging both goals to become a cult hero for the Croats. With the likes of Luca Modric, Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic provide a real threat in offensive areas and could cause the Greeks many problems.
Greece Form
Greece are renowned for their defensive capabilities and being able to grind out results in the most difficult of circumstances. Losing only once (to Belgium) in the group stages, Greece were efficient in their qualification for the play-offs, despite only scoring 9 goals (with the exception of the two games against Gibraltar). This qualification campaign is a far cry from their Euro 2016 effort – finishing bottom of their group behind the Faroe Islands.
Head to Head
Croatia’s relatively young status as a country means these 2 sides have only met on 6 previous occasions. The two teams have shared 3 draws historically, Greece have won 2 and Croatia have only managed to win one of their previous meetings – this is their first meeting in over 6 years.
Odds and Predictions
Greece are notoriously strong defensively and will look to keep the Croats at bay.
Under 2.5 goals in the game looks a strong bet at 8/13 with Ladbrokes.
Andrej Kramaric scored 2 in his last appearance for the national team.
Andrej Kramaric to score anytime looks overpriced at 9/5 with UniBet.
Croatia look in good form and will want to utilise their home advantage.
Croatia to win the game looks good value at 1/3 with Ladbrokes.
Greece struggled for goals throughout the qualification period.
Croatia to keep a clean sheet in the match looks well priced at 8/13 with PaddyPower.
Score Prediction
Croatia 2 – 0 Greece – 9/2 with William Hill
Top Betting Tip
Croatia have home advantage and look well placed to put the pressure on Greece. Croatia to win and keep a clean sheet – as a double – at 2.20 with PaddyPower.