Poland vs Croatia prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League A betting tips on match 2024-10-14 18:45.
[p]Things started so well for Poland in Group A1 of the UEFA Nations League (UNL) with a thrilling 3-2 win over Scotland. They’ve suffered two straight defeats since, first going down 1-0 to their matchday four opponents Croatia last month, then falling to a 3-1 defeat against Portugal on Saturday. That means it’s now just one win in six international matches (D1, L4) for manager Michał Probierz who could well be starting to feel the pressure. [/p]
[p]Their matchday one win does at least give Poland a three-point buffer to Scotland at the bottom of the group, yet Poland will want to start getting back to winning ways if they want to ensure they maintain their status as League A ever-presents. They’ll hope that despite the home loss against Portugal, another home game can help them kickstart a positive run of form given Poland were undefeated in ten home matches before that (W8, D2). [/p]
[p]Croatia’s UNL start has been in contrast to their hosts, suffering defeat in the opening round to Portugal but bouncing back with two wins since, including one at home to Poland. That means although Portugal look on course to secure top spot, Croatia are at least in pole position to take the second quarter-final spot in Group A1 and could take another huge step towards doing so with another victory here. [/p]
[p]The away side should certainly travel with confidence, as not only do they hold a psychological advantage over their opponents thanks to beating them last month, but that win also helped strengthen a strong H2H record with just one defeat across six historical H2Hs (W4, D1), keeping a clean sheet in three of the last four meetings. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Piotr ZieliĹ„ski has yet to open his account for Inter Milan following his summer move, but he has been a notable contributor for Poland since the end of last season with two goals and one assist – including the strike against Portugal on Saturday. Scorer in the win against Scotland on Saturday, Andrej Kramarić is on course to earn his 100th cap for Croatia here. The national side have only lost once across his 28 goalscoring games.[/p]
[p]Hot streak: Poland have conceded at least one goal in seven straight international matches. [/p]
[p][i]Written by David H[/i][/p]