UEFA Nations League: Spain vs Croatia prediction

TheSportsRush brings Spain vs Croatia prediction and head-to-head stats, as UEFA Nations League kicks-off this international break.

Spain will host the World Cup finalists Croatia in the Nations League fixture, days after their trip to England. The ‘La Roja’ had an underwhelming campaign in Russia this summer, where they were knocked-out in the round-of-16 to the hosts.

Spain, who will be playing under their new manager Luis Enrique, will look to bounce back with the Nations League. Croatia come on the brink of a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Portugal, and are led by the in-form Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric.

Luis Enrique’s side has suffered with inconsistency, especially in the defence. The retirement of Gerard Pique from international football came as another blow for the former Barcelona manager.

Zlatko Dalic’s side enjoyed a historic World Cup campaign, where they reached the final for the first time in the history of the tournament. They lost 4-2 to France to finish runners-up at Russia.

Let’s see how both the sides have performed against each other in the recent past:

HEAD TO HEAD:

Spain and Croatia have played each other so little that third of their most recent meetings was at a time when Pep Guardiola was a professional footballer.

Also read: Luka Modric speaks on Ronaldo after match against Portugal

Both the sides met on the field on six occasions, with Spain winning three. Croatia won two, and one resulted in a draw. In their most recent meeting, Croatia emerged 2-1 winners in Euro 2016.

PREDICTION:

We’re rooting for Croatia to hold the hosts to a draw when they meet in Elche. Even though Croatia looked sub-par against Portugal in relation to their performance at the World Cup, Modric’s side won’t need motivation to perform against one of the best teams in Europe.

Unibet has the odds of 27/10 on a draw, which is currently the best at the moment. Coral has put a 4/1 on Croatia’s win, while Guts have 3/4 on Spain’s victory.