Kick-off: 1945, 17/11/2020
Stadium: Poljud Stadium
TV: Sky Sports
Croatia have much more at stake than Portugal ahead of the final round of Nations League Group A3 fixtures and that could make them a value bet.
The Blazers are battling to avoid a costly relegation, whereas their opponents are assured of finishing in second place behind France in this section.
That scenario makes 11/5 for a home win tempting enough to be our first Croatia vs Portugal prediction.
A Look At Croatia’s Betting Odds
Croatia are only ahead of basement dwellers Sweden by virtue of goals scored following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat in Solna, which left both sides on three points.
Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevski fired the Swedes ahead after 36 minutes, with Marcus Danielson heading in a corner just before half-time.
Defender Danielson made sure of a tense finale when he deflected an Ivan Perisic header in for an own goal with eight minutes left, but the hosts hung on.
Head coach Zlatko Dalic commented: “We took control in the second half, but it was not enough.”
Dalic has been experimenting with tactical tweaks for the past few months, but now it is time to knuckle down and claim a crucial victory.
The World Cup runners-up will probably need to adopt a positive approach up front, though, as they have not kept a clean sheet in their last 10 outings.
Looking at the Croatia vs Portugal odds, we like 21/4 for a home win and both teams to score.
A Look At Portugal’s Betting Odds
Defending champions Portugal seemed in pole position to qualify for the finals again before going down 1-0 to France in Lisbon.
Anthony Martial went close to breaking the deadlock in the first half when his header hit the crossbar and the Manchester United forward was then denied by a full-stretch save from Rui Patricio.
The Wolves goalkeeper was beaten in the 54th minute, though, when N’Golo Kante knocked the ball in from close range after Patricio had palmed out Adrien Rabiot’s low effort.
Jose Fonte headed against the bar as Portugal tried to hit back and Joao Moutinho’s long-range effort forced a save from Hugo Lloris.
However, Portugal had to endure a first defeat in 22 home games and saw their 10-match unbeaten run in Nations League fixtures come to an end.
Fernando Santos admitted his team “struggled a lot” and it would be no surprise to see him make a number of changes for this third outing in seven days.
We feel that may make them vulnerable in Split and 21/2 for a 2-1 home win completes our Croatia vs Portugal betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
Sweden 2-1 CROATIA – Danielson (og)
PORTUGAL 0-1 France
Head-to-head: Portugal 4-1 Croatia, Portugal 1-1 Croatia, Croatia 0-1 Portugal, Croatia 0-1 Portugal
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