Armenia vs Croatia prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-10 16:00.
Whilst avoiding defeat against the odds with a 1-1 draw against Turkey was certainly a valiant effort from Armenia on Friday evening, it ultimately saw them drop out of the top two in their quest to secure a very first major tournament appearance as an independent nation. An immediate chance for redemption presents itself on Monday, although Oleksandr Petrakov’s men will likely need a handful of goals to build on their seven-point haul (W2, D1, L1) as they’re yet to keep a clean sheet.
That’s not to mention the fact Armenia are set to welcome the recent UEFA Nations League finalists Croatia, a nation who sit above them on goal difference despite having played one fewer game. The only prior H2H encounter ended level, although this one may well see the spoils go one way considering each of Armenia’s last eight home European Championship qualifiers (ECQ) produced a winner within 90 minutes (W3, L5).
That record will likely continue if Zlatko Dalić’s side bring even half of the zip they showed when they put lowly Latvia to the sword with a 5-0 win on Friday. Another three points here will put them firmly in the driving seat at the halfway stage of this campaign, although even in the worst-case scenario, they can fall back on a pre-secured play-off thanks to their Nations League exploits.
Playing on foreign shores is unlikely to faze Croatia either, as they head to Yerevan with a four-match unbeaten run in away ECQ games under their belt (W2, D2). Only once have they notched a longer such run once since the turn of the century, but continuing that streak with a draw isn’t out of the question as six of Croatia’s last ten internationals ended all square after 90 minutes, but crucially, four of those were in knockout scenarios.
Players to watch: Artak Dashyan has proven a crucial contributor for Armenia in this ECQ cycle by helping his nation to four points with a goal and an assist in the last two rounds. Trying to outdo him will be Croatia’s powerful forward Bruno Petković, who is currently enjoying a career-best run of consecutive goal-contributing appearances for club and country with five goals and as many assists across his last six games.
Hot stat: Just one of Armenia’s last ten internationals produced a goalless first half.