Croatia v Portugal

Croatia vs Portugal Preview

Croatia were dealt a 1-0 defeat away from home at Scotland on Friday night which has placed the upcoming hosts in a situation where they need at least a point in this encounter in order to secure a place in the quarter-finals, while Portugal registered a 5-1 thrashing of Poland which has guaranteed their spot in the quarter-finals of the Nations League.

Croatia occupy second place in the Group 1 table and possess a three-point lead over third placed Poland ahead of the last game of the group stage and Poland will be playing Scotland on Matchday 6.

The bigger picture though suggests Croatia are by no means guaranteed a result here on Monday night as Zlatko Dalic's side have managed to capture just two wins in their last eight matches in all competitions which came in the shape of victories over Poland and Scotland respectively.

Losses to Spain, Portugal and Scotland within this period have outweighed Croatia's recent minimal successes but goals could feature in this upcoming clash as six out of Croatia's last 10 games overall have resulted in both teams scoring.

Portugal have enjoyed an extremely successful Nations League campaign thus far as the Selecao sit top of the Group 1 table where they possess an unassailable six-point cushion over their upcoming second placed hosts Croatia.

The visitors have therefore sealed their place in the quarter-finals of this current edition of the Nations League and will head over to the Stadion Poljud brimming with confidence after picking up four wins and a draw within their five matches played to date in the group stage.

Important wins against Croatia 2-1, Scotland 2-1 along with home and away wins against Poland in 5-1 and 3-1 victories respectively will give Portugal plenty of confidence ahead of this final group game and the bigger picture suggests Roberto Martinez's side stand a decent chance of gaining a result in Croatia as well.

Indeed, Portugal have lost just four out of their last 25 matches overall and having also picked up no fewer than 20 victories within this period as well, the visitors are expected to make life extremely uncomfortable against an equally highly motivated Croatia outfit.

Results away from home have also been pretty steady where Portugal have been concerned as the visitors have lost just twice in their last 10 outings on the road while collecting seven wins in the process, and the visitors also bring a serious goal threat into this upcoming clash.

Indeed, Portugal have scored in seven of their last 10 away games and the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way in the goalscoring charts with five goals.

Croatia v Portugal Verdict

Each of the previous five meetings have resulted in both teams scoring and this trend looks set to continue in this clash.

Therefore, our main bet will be BTTS Yes @ 1.72

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.35

Correct Score: 1-1 @ 6.00