On Sunday night, Croatia can seal their spot at World Cup 2018 when they visit Greece in the second leg of the playoffs.
The first leg finished with Croatia recording a commanding 4-1 win in Zagreb. The victory has made it very hard for the home side to get back into the tie.
Greece have to score three times and hope that Croatia fails to find the net in Piraeus. The home side’s chances of making up that deficit are not helped by the fact that their recent form in World Cup qualifiers has been a mixed bag.
The Galanolefki have won just two of their last eight qualifiers. Those wins were against the minnows of Cyprus and Gibraltar.
One positive for Greece is their recent home record in qualifying, as they have lost just one of their last 15 qualifiers on home soil. However, they have also won just one of their last four qualifiers at home.
Croatia headed into the first leg with a mixed recent qualification record. However, they ruthlessly took apart a poor Greek defence in the reverse fixture to all-but seal their spot at Russia 2018.
The first leg victory was the first of Croatia’s qualifiers in nine that produced over 2.5 goals, as the others were all low scoring.
One concern for Croatia may be their inconsistent away record in qualifiers. The Vatreni have won three of their last six qualifiers on the road.
The good news for the visitors is that their away games in World Cup qualifying tend to be low scoring, with under 2.5 goals scored in seven of their last eight games. If this game follows suit then Croatia will comfortably qualify for Russia 2018.
Forebet predicts that Croatia will finish the job in Piraeus by recording a victory and end Greece’s World Cup hopes in the process.