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Croatia vs Czech Republic Predictions & Tips - Back the draw in Glasgow

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 16 Jun 2021

Ralph Staniforth 16 Jun 2021

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Croatia vs Czech Republic predictions for Friday’s European Championship clash
The Group D encounter is being played at 6pm SAST at Hampden Park
Croatia are winless in 8 of their last 10 outings
I'm backing a draw in Group D
Betting tips, predictions and team news for Croatia vs Czech Republic

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Croatia vs Czech Republic Predictions

Croatia struggle to get going in their EURO 2020 opener and must avoid defeat to keep their tournament hopes alive. The Czech Republic beat Scotland, but were far from convincing. With both teams in patchy form, I am backing a draw in Glasgow on Friday.

Croatia are winless in 8 of their last 10 matches (all competitions)
Czech Republic are winless in their last 3 matches against Croatia (all competitions)
Czech Republic are winless in 3 of their last 5 matches (all competitions)

Head-to-Head

Croatia have a 2-0 advantage against the Czech Republic in three meetings.

The sides drew 2-2 in the most recent meeting at Euro 2016. Croatia led 2-0 before a late Czech Republic come back.

Croatia Form

Croatia lost 1-0 in their opening Euro 2020 match against England. The loss extended their three-match winless run after a 1-0 defeat to Belgium and a disappointing 1-1 draw against Armenia.

Zlatko Dalić’s side struggled to create clear chances against England with 0.53 expected goals. They were under pressure for large periods and conceded shortly after halftime. Luka Modric came closest to an equaliser with a long-range effort that was easily saved.

Croatia have struggled on the international stage over the past 18 months. They have won just two of their last 10 matches in all competitions and failed to keep a clean sheet in 15 of their last 17 matches.

Croatia Injuries & Team News

Goalkeepers: Tomas Vaclik, Lovre Kalinic, Dominik Livakovic, Simon Sluga

Defenders: Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Sime Vrsaljko, Borna Barisic, Duje Caleta-Car, Josip Juranovic, Domagoj Bradaric, Mile Skoric, Josko Gvardiol

Midfielders: Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, Milan Badelj, Mario Pasalic, Nikola Vlasic, Luka Ivanusec

Forwards: Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, Ante Rebic, Josip Brekalo, Bruno Petkovic, Mislav Orsic, Ante Budimir

Defender Borna Barisic is set to return after missing the England match through injury.

Croatia are expected to stick with their 4-2-3-1 formation with more attacking options in midfield.

Croatia lacked creativity against England, so central midfielders Mateo Kovacic or Marcelo Brozovic may be dropped for attacking midfielder Nikola Vlasic.

Czech Republic Form

The Czech Republic beat Scotland 2-0 in their opening Euro 2020 match. Jaroslav Silhavy’s side were clinical, with Patrik Schick scoring two well-taken goals.

The Czech’s were under pressure for most of the match and had just 42% possession and 0.95 expected goals. Goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik produced several top saves to keep a clean sheet for his side.

It was the Czech Republic’s second consecutive win following a 3-1 victory against Albania in their final Euros warm-up match.

Before the back-to-back wins, Silhavy’s side were in patchy form, losing 4-0 to Italy, 1-0 to Wales and drawing 1-1 with Belgium.

Czech Republic Injuries & Team News

Goalkeepers: Tomas Vaclik, Jiri Pavlenka, Ales Mandous

Defenders: Jan Boril, Jakub Brabec, Vladimir Coufal, Ondrej Celustka, Pavel Kaderabek, Tomas Kalas, Ales Mateju, David Zima

Midfielders: Antonin Barak, Vladimir Darida, Adam Hlozek, Tomas Holes, Jakub Jankto, Alex Kral, Lukas Masopust, Jakub Pesek, Tomas Soucek, Petr Sevcik, Michal Sadilek

Forwards: Michael Krmencik, Tomas Pekhart, Patrik Schick, Matej Vydra

The Czech Republic are likely to stick with their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

Centre backs Tomas Kalas and Ondrej Celustka have a solid partnership in defence and they are set to retain their places.

On form striker, Patrik Schick was clinical against Scotland. He will retain his position as the lone striker and will be the Czech's attacking outlet.

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Verdict

Croatia v Czech Republic

The Czech Republic tend to underwhelm against better sides. Croatia have been inconsistent recently and need to get something from the match. I'm backing a tight draw at Hampden Park on Friday.

Draw

Full Time Result

@12/5 - 2 Units

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