Group A1 looks like it will be topped by Portugal, but the second place is pretty much up for grabs. Croatia and Poland look like the likely teams to battle for it as Scotland is with two losses after the first two games. If they harbour any chances for something more Scotland will need to pick itself up here, but Croatia is as tough as it gets as far as opponents go.
Croatia Team News
Croatia will welcome Scotland, who is winless in their group so far and there is plenty of confidence for a win here. For starters, they are quite tough hosts, with the team winning 4 of their last 5 home fixtures. Zlatko Dalić’s men have a reputation for grinding out robust wins against their opponents with the result reflecting that. Three of the team’s last 6 wins have come with a single-goal margin. Moreover, Croatia has won 5 of their last 6 Nations League games. As expected, 4 of those wins also came by a single-goal margin signalling closely fought affairs.
Scotland Team News
A closely fought affair might be an achievement for Scotland, who will travel to Croatia in a truly horrific international form. Following a hugely disappointing European Championship came 2 losses in the Nations League. The last time this team won was before the Euro in the preparations for the tournament. To be precise, Scotland have just 1 win across their last 14 fixtures and that 1 win was a 2-0 win over Gibraltar. With 9 losses and only 4 draws in the span of those games and a lot of sidelined players Steve Clarke will have a tough task ahead of him. Curiously enough, he can field a starting 11 of injured players that combined have well over 300 caps for the national team.
Head-to-Head-Games
Interestingly enough, Scotland has 2 wins over Croatia, while the latter has just one. The rest of the 5 games these two have played one another ended in a draw. The most recent fixture played between Croatia and Scotland was played in 2021 and was won 3-1 by the former.
Croatia – Scotland Betting Prediction
Given the fact that Scotland is in a horrid form and has a ton of injury woes, my pick here is for Croatia to win. They are quite formidable as hosts and have a reputation for snatching wins even against tough opponents. While some of their wins are with a minimal margin, I still think that Croatia has more than enough quality and experience to tackle this crippled Scotland side.
Betting Tip: Croatia To Win
Bookmaker: Stake
Odds: 1.61
Stake
Place your bet on Croatia – Scotland at Stake