Gibraltar v Croatia

• Croatia have lost just two of their last seven matches.

• Gibraltar have lost each of their opening two World Cup qualifiers.

• Ante Budimir scored 21 goals for Osasuna in La Liga this season, not to mention he scored for Croatia against France earlier this year.
  

Croatia will get their World Cup qualifying campaign underway when they take on Gibraltar on Friday night.

Zlatko Dalic’s side are playing catch-up in Group L due to their Nations League commitments, while minnows Gibraltar have lost their opening two matches.

This looks a real mismatch, and that is reflected in the pre-match odds, with Croatia as short as 1.01, while a Gibraltar win is priced up at a whopping 126.0. 

Meanwhile, the Over/Under 2.5 goal line suggests it could be a cricket score for Croatia, with over 2.5 goals as short as 1.13.

⭐ Gibraltar v Croatia Predictions and Best Bets

Understandably, Croatia are a short price to win but backing them to Win to Nil will bolster the odds to 1.17, a bet you may wish to combine in a shorter odds bet builder. Six of Croatia's last seven victories in competitive contests have arrived alongside a clean sheet, including a 2-0 success against France in March. Meanwhile, Gibraltar have failed to score in 14 of their last 15 defeats, the most recent of which was a 4-0 reverse at home to the Czech Republic.

After scoring 21 goals for Osasuna in La Liga this season, Ante Budimir stands out to score first at 2.63.

🔴 Tall Order for Gibraltar

Gibraltar are bottom of Group L after coming away empty-handed from each of their opening two World Cup qualifiers. The hosts opened up their campaign with a 3-1 loss at Montenegro before being thrashed 4-0 at home by the Czech Republic.

While Gibraltar did manage to go through their recent Nations League section without tasting defeat across their four matches, they were housed against fellow international lesser lights Liechtenstein and section winners San Marino. They now have to deal with a major step up in class in their World Cup qualifying group, with Croatia representing their toughest test to date. 

⚪ Croatia Looking to Kick On

After their agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to France at the quarter-final stage of the Nations League, Croatia will be looking to hit the ground running in their bid to reach next year’s World Cup.

While it would have been a particularly bitter pill to swallow, the Balkan nation can draw confidence from the fact that they pushed star-studded France to their limits across the two legs. What’s more, Croatia have lost just two of their last seven matches, so their confidence is unlikely to have been dented too much by their Nations League exit.

📊 Gibraltar v Croatia Head-to-Head Key Stats

Gibraltar and Croatia will come up against each other for just the second-ever time on Friday night. The pair previously crossed paths in a friendly fixture way back in 2015. Croatia ran out comfortable 4-0 winners on that occasion, and a repeat of that scoreline on Friday night is entirely plausible given the gulf in quality between these two nations.

Football Predictions at Andy's Bet Club

Andy's Bet Club is packed full of Expert Football Tips, such as our Team to Score Accumulator Tips. We also have an easy-to-use Bet Builder Stats tool to help you conduct your own research. Look out for the latest Gem Bets and Club World Cup Predictions on ABC this week.

For Friday's slate, we also have a Goals Algorithm Accumulator, Win Treble, North Macedonia v Belgium Betting Predictions, and North Macedonia v Belgium Bet Builder Tips, as well as Quick Preview coverage for Scotland v Iceland, Norway v Italy, and Czechia v Montenegro.

When backing our tips, you'll want to be doing so on the Top Bet Builder Sites and Best UK Sports Betting Sites. We also track the best offers, such as the Paddy Power Sign Up Offer and Betfair Sign Up Offer.

* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.