Russia vs Croatia Odds, Preview And Prediction

Russia vs Croatia World Cup Odds

Russia and Croatia lock horns at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi at 21:00 local time on Saturday 7th July in the fourth and final 2018 FIFA World Cup quarter-final.

The hosts have not been this deep at the World Cup since finishing fourth in 1966 while Croatia have not been this far at a World Cup since finishing third in 1998. 

Russia vs Croatia Prediction

The Russians have been the surprise package of the 2018 FIFA World Cup because the majority of pundits and experts did not believe they would navigate their way out of their group. They smashed Saudi Arabia 5-0, beat Egypt 3-1 before losing 3-0 to Uruguay.

Perhaps the most surprising result was them beating Spain on penalties in the Round of 16, a result nobody predicted. Now they face Croatia and surely it is time for the wheels to fall off and the hosts see their World Cup quest end.

Croatia have been impressive in their four games and are far too strong for Russia to handle. A 2-0 Croatia win looks incredible value at +900.

Russia vs Croatia Key Bites

• There have been three previous games between these two sides: two draws and a Croatia victory
• Russia and Croatia drew 0-0 twice in the Euro 2008 qualifiers
• Both teams needed extra time and penalties to win their Round of 16 match
• Croatia have only ever once gone to extra time in a World Cup match
• Russia's defence has only kept one clean sheet in 12 games

Russia vs Croatia Betting Trends

Russia vs Croatia World Cup Preview

Russia will go into their quarter-final game with Croatia with nothing to fear as they have already beaten all expectations by reaching this stage of the tournament. This will be the last match played in Sochi at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and there will be a proverbial army of Russia supporters cheering their team on.

The Russians will be without former Chelsea winger Yuri Zhirkov but will otherwise be at full strength for the Croatia clash. The host nation has shown that it has goals in its team, but that they can also be weak in defense, as is evident by them only keeping one clean sheet in their last 12 games.

It is difficult to see Russia being able to overcome Croatia, but stranger things have happened in football. Bovada price Russia at +280 to win compared to Croatia at +120, yet those odds are not long enough for us to want to take a punt on a side that looks to have peaked too soon.

Croatia won all three of their Group Stage games and did so in convincing style. A 2-0 win over Nigeria was followed by a 3-0 win over Argentina then a 2-1 victory over a resilient Iceland team. 

The Round of 16 game against Denmark went to extra time and ultimately penalties and it remains to be seen if the Croatians have recovered fully from that exertion and the mental stress that penalties put on players.

We believe they will be 100 percent for their game against Russia and will be doing everything in their power to finish the game within the regulation 90-minutes. Croatia know that if they beat Russia they will face either Sweden or England in the semi-finals of the tournament and they will be confident of beating either of those teams because the entire squad is brimming with confidence right now.

Category : Betting Picks

Tag : FIFA World Cup , Soccer

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