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Croatia will entertain Latvia at the Stadion HNK Rijeka in the group stage of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers on Friday.
The hosts are unbeaten in their two games in the qualifiers thus far and recorded a 2-0 away win over Turkey in March, thanks to Mateo Kovačić's first-half brace. They did not play in the qualifiers in June, as they took part in the UEFA Nations League finals and finished as the runners-up to Spain.
The visitors have lost three games in a row in the qualifiers and suffered a 2-1 away loss to Armenia in their previous outing. They struggled in the final third in that match and got on the scoresheet courtesy of Styopa Mkrtchyan's own goal.
They are at the bottom of the Group D standings while the hosts are in third place with four points from two games.
Croatia vs Latvia Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have squared off four times in all competitions, with two meetings coming in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers and two meetings coming in the European qualifiers. The hosts have a 100% record in these games.
- They last met in the European qualifiers in 2011, with Croatia recording a 2-0 home win.
- The hosts have kept three clean sheets in a row against the visitors, scoring six goals in that period.
- The visitors have suffered five defeats in a row across all competitions. The hosts, meanwhile, have suffered just one defeat in their last five games.
- The hosts are unbeaten in their last five European qualifiers, and the visitors, on the other hand, have just one win in their last 24 games, suffering 18 defeats.
Croatia vs Latvia Prediction
Kockasti are unbeaten at home in their European qualifiers since their first appearance in the qualifiers in 1994. In their last competitive game, they suffered a defeat on penalties to Spain, though the match ended goalless after extra time. They'll look to return to winning ways in this match.
The visitors have struggled in their four meetings against the hosts, suffering defeats in these games and also scoring just one goal in that period. They have suffered defeats in their last five games in all competitions.
They have scored at least one goal in 14 of their last 15 games in all competitions and should be able to find the back of the net here. Nonetheless, considering their struggles against the hosts and poor form in European qualifiers, we back the hosts to record a comfortable win.
Prediction: Croatia 2-1 Latvia
Croatia vs Latvia Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Croatia to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Andrej Kramarić to score or assist any time - Yes
