Croatia vs Albania Prediction: Bets, Context, and Lineups
Best Bets for Croatia vs. Albania
- Croatia to win and under 4.5 goals at odds of @ 1.72 on Betway, equating to a 58.1% and 63.7% chance for the Croats to win.
- Ante Budimir to score with odds of @ 2.80 on Betway, indicating a 35.7% chance for the Osasuna forward to score.
- No in Both teams to score with odds of @ 1.70 on Betway, representing a 58.8% chance for no more than one nation to get on the scoresheet.
Croatia to bounce back from their opening day defeat with a 2-0 win over Albania.
Our Analysis: Form of Both Teams
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After a thrilling completion to the first round of matches, Croatia vs Albania gets Match Day 2 underway. After suffering defeats in their opening fixtures, both nations go in search of their first points of the tournament.
Croatia sit bottom of Group B, following a 3-0 thumping at the hands of Spain on Saturday. That ended a good run of form for the Croats, who were undefeated in six prior to that clash, but will expect to get back to winning ways here.
Albania could not have dreamt of a better start to their campaign, scoring the fastest goal in European Championship history just 23 seconds into their 2-1 defeat to Italy. After an impressive qualification campaign, the Albanians have now lost three of their last five internationals.
Probable Lineups for Croatia vs. Albania
The probable lineup for Croatia in the 4-3-3
- Livakovic; J. Gvardiol, J Sutalo, M. Pongracic, J. Stanisic; L Modric, M. Kovacic, M. Brozovic; I Perisic, L Majer, A. Budimir.
The probable lineup for Albania in the 4-2-3-1
- T. Strakosha; M Mitaj, A Ajeti, B. Djimsiti, E Hysaj, K. Asllani; Y. Ramadani, T. Seferi, N. Bajrami, J. Asani; A. Broja.
Croatia to get first points on the board
After a damaging 3-0 defeat to Spain on Match Day 1, Croatia must bounce back with a win here. With a final group game against fellow top-10-ranked nation Italy, this fixture with Albania represents their easiest challenge on paper.
The three-goal loss to the Spanish was arguably not as convincing as it appeared. The Croatians had more possession, had more attempts at goal and outperformed the winners in the xG (expected goals) data.
Expect Zlatko Dalić’s men to get the job done as they should when priced at around 1.50, but that is a price we are unable to suggest as a tip. However, add under 4.5 goals to the bet and the price is a much more palatable 1.72.
- Croatia vs Albania Bet 1: Croatia victory and under 4.5 goals @ 1.72 with Betway
No Ante climax with Budimir in attack
As often happens in tournament football when a strikeforce draws a blank, there is a debate whether there should be changes. Ante Budimir should have done enough across the season to warrant another start here.
The Osasuna frontman cracked a career-high 17 goals in the Spanish top flight this term and added one goal in his two Europa Conference League appearances. In the colours of Croatia, he scored against Portugal in the final warm-up match ahead of this tournament.
The 32-year-old scored the goal that clinched qualification in defeating Armenia 1-0. He may be seen as something of a good luck charm and will fancy his chances of scoring again against the second lowest-ranked side in the competition.
- Croatia vs Albania Bet 2: Ante Budimir Anytime Scorer @ 2.80 with Betway
Croats can keep it clean
Nedim Bajrami’s goal 23 seconds into the match against Italy may have grabbed headlines, but it was Albania’s only shot on target throughout the whole match. This lack of offensive output is not unusual for them under the stewardship of former Arsenal and Barcelona defender, Sylvinho.
Prior to the clash with the Italians, they had failed to score in three of their last five internationals. The most alarming came against the Faroe Islands in the last game of qualifying.
Croatia generally offer a solid defensive unit, having kept a clean sheet in four of their last seven fixtures.
- Croatia vs Albania Bet 3: No in Both Teams to Score @ 1.70 with Betway