Group leaders Croatia welcome second place Ukraine to Zagreb in the biggest game of World Cup Qualifying Group I so far. Croatia began the campaign as favourites to qualify and they are certainly living up to that tag having bagged 10 points from the first 4 games. Anchored in midfield by the outstanding Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, Croatia certainly have the pedigree required to open up an early 5 point gap on their nearest rivals.
Under Andrei Shevchenko, Ukraine have been building the kind of momentum not seen since their managers playing days. As always they will look to their star duo Yevhen Konomplyanka and Andriy Yarmolenko for inspiration. Their new centre back pairing of Yaroslav Rakitskiy and Oleksandr Kucher are on a run of 3 consecutive clean sheets.
In what could be a cagey affair, Croatia’s extra dynamism and impetus in attack through the likes of Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Perisic could make all the difference.
Although Ukraine’s defensive organisation has been improving game on game out, the quality of Croatia’s team should see them secure 3 more points for manager Ante Cacic. I expect high possession stats with a low return of goals for Croatia.
William Hill are offering odds of 6/4 for Mario Mandzukic to score anytime against Ukraine. The Juventus striker has netted 4 times in as many games in Group I so far and those odds look a great bet. If you are looking for betting advice on the actual outcome of the game, then odds of 4/1 for Croatia to win 1-0 is a lovely price on Bet365.