Kick-off: 1945, 14/11/2020
Stadium: Friends Arena
TV: Sky Sports
Croatia only need a point from their trip to Sweden to avoid being relegated from Nations League Group A3 and may settle for a share of the spoils in Solna.
The Blazers looked the better team for long periods when beating the Swedes 2-1 in Zagreb last month but a change of venue can help to even things up.
We reckon 11/5 for a draw at Friends Arena is good value for our first Sweden vs Croatia prediction.
A Look At Sweden’s Betting Odds
Sweden have struggled in this pool, also losing 2-0 and 3-0 to Portugal and going down 1-0 at home to France.
Wednesday’s 2-0 friendly defeat away to Denmark was another disappointing effort from Janne Andersson’s side.
However, the yellow and blues were solid at this venue during Euro 2020 qualifying, drawing with Spain and Norway and beating Romania, Faroe Islands and Malta.
There have also been friendly wins over Moldova, Kosovo and – most impressively – Russia in 2020, so this is not a bad team.
Everton recruit Robin Olsen has been capped 40 times between the posts, while Manchester United’s Victor Lindelof and Emil Krafth of Newcastle can feature in defence.
Some of their key attacking players have reached veteran status but Sweden did have the energy to be competitive late on when these teams met in Croatia.
Looking at the Sweden vs Croatia odds, we like 11/2 for a 1-1 stalemate.
A Look At Croatia’s Betting Odds
Croatia tend to save their best for major competitions and topped a Euro 2020 qualifying group featuring Wales and Slovakia.
The World Cup runners-up have taken part in some entertaining Nations League contests, but results have generally gone against them.
After losing 4-1 away to Portugal, the Blazers went from drawing 2-2 in France at the hour mark to go down 4-2 at the final whistle.
Les Bleus grabbed a late winner when prevailing 2-1 in Zagreb to leave Croatia a distant third in this section.
Last month’s 2-1 friendly win in Switzerland and Wednesday’s 3-3 draw in Turkey showed there is still plenty of creative flair in this side, though.
Ivan Rakitic has now retired from international football, but Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Perisic have the big-match experience to guide the visitors through this tricky test.
Both teams have scored in the Blazers’ last nine matches, so 91/100 for that sequence to be extended here is another Sweden vs Croatia prediction, along with 17/5 for a score draw.
Additional stats
Last result:
Denmark 2-0 SWEDEN
Turkey 3-3 CROATIA – Budimir, Pasalic, Brekalo
Head-to-head: Croatia 2-1 Sweden, Croatia 1-3 Sweden, Croatia 1-0 Sweden, Sweden 0-1 Croatia, Sweden 1-2 Croatia
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