Winner takes all scenario at the top of Group H as the top two battle it out with a guaranteed placed at the World Cup in Qatar next year up for grabs. A draw will do for Russia whereas the hosts know they must win on Sunday afternoon to leapfrog the Russians into top spot. Given so much is on the line and with both sides quality international outfits, feel this is the perfect game for a Cheat Sheet and some Bet Builder Tips.
Croatia v Russia Bet Builder Tips
Croatia Win
Fresh of a 7-1 away win in Malta on Thursday night, Croatia will be full of confidence going into this one and in front of a partisan home crowd in Split, I fancy the hosts to get the job done. Fun fact to kick us off, Croatia haven’t lost a World Cup qualifying game at home since November 2013 (W8, D3). They are fantastic on home soil and in my opinion a superior team to Russians and I fancy them to get the 3 points which would see them top the group.
Barring any late fitness issues, Dalic will almost certainly name the same XI which started Croatia’s win in Malta. The nature of the win in Malta in that it was over by half-time allowed Dalic to make 5 subs very early on and allow his key players to rest ahead of the game on Sunday afternoon. The likes of Modric, Persic, Pasalic and Brozovic were all subbed prior to the hour mark and will be fresh going into this one. This will be the last chance for the likes of Modric and Perisic to make it to a World Cup given their advancing years and I don’t expect them to miss the opportunity.
Over 1.5 Goals
Croatia need to win so will likely attack from the off in a bid to seal top spot in front of their home crowd. Both sides are stacked with attacking talent as they showed in their most recent fixtures where Croatia won 7-1 and Russia won 6-0. Over 1.5 goals has featured in 14 of the last 15 matches for Croatia at home and they have managed to score 2+ in 4 of their last 5 home WCQ games. Expect this one to follow suit and I can’t see there not being a couple of goals this afternoon.
Duje Caleta-Car to be Carded
The Marseille central defender is highly-thought of around Europe and his assertive displays for both Croatia and the French giants has attracted interest from a number of English clubs. Standing at a towering 6’4, the Croatian isn’t someone who you want to face in an aerial battle. He’s dominant in the air and challenges and wins most of his aerial duels even if that at times means the old elbow is thrown around.
His enormous stature can lead to him being a little leggy at times and as you can see from his Cheat Sheet stats he is certainly prone to a booking. Six booking in his 20 Croatia caps to date is pretty good going and given what is on the line tonight I feel he looks exceptional value for a yellow.
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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets, my predicted line-ups can be found below *
Croatia v Russia Predicted Line-ups
Croatia Predicted 11 v Russia: Grbic; Juranovic, Caleta-Car, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Pasalic; Majer, Kramaric, Perisic (4-3-3)
Russia Predicted 11 v Croatia: Safonov; Sutormin, Osipenko, Diveev, Terekhov; Erokhin, Fomin, Golovin; Miranchuk, Smolov, Mostovov (4-3-3)
Croatia v Russia Cheat Sheet
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch Croatia v Russia in World Cup Qualifying
📅 When is Croatia v Russia? / Sunday, 14 November 2021, 14:00 BST
🏟 Where is Croatia v Russia? / Stadion Poljud (Split)
📺 What TV Channel is Croatia v Russia on? / Sky Sports
📱 Online Live Streaming for Croatia v Russia / bet365
🟨 …And who is the referee for Croatia v Russia? / Danny Makkelie
