Croatia vs Czech Republic
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Croatia vs Czech Republic in Group C of Euro2020 takes place on June 18 at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Croatia come into the game off the back of a tough 1-0 defeat to England while Czech Republic were handsome 2-0 winners in this ground against Scotland on June 13. Read on for more analysis, match predictions and betting tips.
Form
Croatia’s form has been patchy coming into the tournament and they struggled against an efficient England side. While young players like Josko Gvadiol offered a threat down the left, skipper Luka Modric failed to stamp his authority on the game. Where Croatia can be happy is in defence as they completely nullified the threat of Harry Kane. While Raheem Sterling’s goal meant Croatia failed to keep a clean sheet for the 12th time in 14 games, there is hope that they can improve further.
Although Czech keeper Tomas Vaclik was in fine form to keep a clean sheet, it will be Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrick Schick who will have captured the plaudits thanks to his halfway line lob for his second goal. That win means Czech Republic go into this game knowing a win sees them qualify for the knockout stages despite being in patchy form prior to the tournament.
Injuries
Rangers defender Borna Barisic missed the first game completely for Croatia and there were some fears from his club that the defender might be seriously injured after it emerged he went for back scans. However, the MRI came back without serious injuries and it is hoped that Barisic will return to full training soon. This game might come too soon for him however which would mean Gvadiol continuing in the left-back slot.
Czech head coach Jaroslav Silhavy has no new injuries to contend with in his squad and could once again go for the same eleven who impressed against Scotland. That would mean once again Burnley forward Matej Vydra would miss out with Silhavy preferring a 4-2-3-1 formation with Schick alone up front.
Match Prediction
Croatia are marginal favourites for this game but there isn’t much in it between them and the Czech Republic. Silhavy’s men were outsiders for the first game and readers of our previews will know that we tipped Czech Republic to win that one. We think it’s worth taking a look at them again with odds of around 3.50 against them winning this game, although for the less brave the Czech +1 bet at around 1.70 might be a bit more palatable
