World Cup
2009-06-06 - Croatia vs Ukraine
A Sports Betting Pick by Ziherash
Football: FIFA World Cup 2010 European (UEFA) Qualifiers
Saturday 6th June 2009 - Kickoff 19:15
Let me offer an angle on this match - I'll try to provide some local knowledge here..
Croatia are favourites in this important match that will decide much in group 2, no doubt about that.
Croatia have only lost one competitive match at home in their 17 year history, that was the recent 4:1 drubbing by England, so I think it's fair to say that points are hard to come by for visitors to Croatia.
Having said that, I do feel the 1.75-1.80 on offer for the home win is poor value.
Ukraine are a decent side, England only just managed to beat them with a late goal in their last away game, so the Ukrainans are a solid outfit
These days Ukraine's play is not so much about the flair of players like Shevchenko and Rebrov, but it is still a very good team of seasoned internationals, and a blend of youth too...
As for Croatia, well, we're still missing Eduardo upfront, and to be honest, we haven't been able to replace a player of that calibre.
Still, Croatia have managed decent results without Dudu and it'll be Olic and Petric upfront which is not bad.
We have some injury concerns with Kranjcar and Simunic although both will probably feature but it's not known how fit they'll be. Otherwise it'll be a pretty strong line-up for Croatia.
The Betting Verdict
I'm expecting a very tight affair in this one as there is too much at stake for both teams to risk too much.
I believe Ukraine will play for the draw and I expect a tight defensive performance from them, waiting to counterattack.
Croatia will be more positive, driven by the patriotic crowd, it'll be a full house at Maximir Stadium, they will attack, but it will be controlled pressure rather than going all out.
Possible scorelines are 1:0, 0:0, 1:1
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Possible scorelines: 1:0, 0:0, 1:1
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Under 2.5 goals as the bet - confidence 8.5/10Consider a bet on Draw @ HT
