On Thursday night, Croatia host Azerbaijan at the Stadion Maksimir, as World Cup semi-finalists look to kick-off their Euro 2020 qualification with a victory.
Croatia have enjoyed mixed fortunes since losing last years World Cup final against France. In fact, the home side has won just two of their last seven outings. Last time out, they suffered a 2-1 defeat in England in the Nations League.
The game at Wembley followed a familiar high scoring trend for the home side of late, as four of their last five international matches have produced over 2.5 goals.
Croatia are 19 games unbeaten on home soil in all competitions, having recorded 15 victories in the process. Their recent home matches have been high scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in four of their last five home outings. Croatia have scored at least two goals in four of their last five matches, which has contributed to the recent high scoring matches.
Croatia have only faced Azerbaijan on two previous occasions, recording one win and the last meeting in 2015 finishing all square.
A 4-0 defeat in Kosovo last time out ended a promising six-game unbeaten run for Azerbaijan. Four of their previous five matches had also produced under 2.5 goals, which suggests the game were close encounters.
Azerbaijan have a mixed recent away record, as the visitors have lost four, won two and drawn one of their last seven outings on their travels. Their recent away matches have been high scoring with over 2.5 goals scored in five of their last six games.
The visitors have a major task on their hands recording an away victory. If they record a win then it would no doubt be the most impressive result in the history of their national team.
Forebet predicts that Croatia will continue their strong home form by recording a win in a high scoring clash.