Croatia are a point away from qualification, while Belgium must win to progress. George Gamble selects his best bet from the game.
Group F leaders Croatia have the advantage coming into this clash as they currently sit top.
They made a slow start to this competition, drawing their opening match against Morocco and going behind but eventually winning against Canada. Zlatko Dalic has said that he wants his men to show their best and wants them to play “good football, rapid, fast football” and maintain a “disciplined approach”.
Only four sides have averaged more shots on target across the opening two group matches than Croatia and given the Belgian’s problems of late, it seems likely that the Vatreni will be able to fashion a number of goalscoring opportunities.
Kick-off time: 15:00 GMT, Thursday
TV Channel: BBC One
Meanwhile, things just haven’t been clicking for Belgium and a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Canada is the only reason they are still in with a shout of qualifying for the next round.
They followed up that win with a 2-0 loss to Morocco and Roberto Martinez made some worrying comments, stating his side played with a “fear of losing”.
They simply cannot adopt that mindset here as they need a positive result and must play on the front foot. It’s likely that Belgium are going to commit further forward and that may just play into an experienced Croatia side’s hands.
Neither side has guaranteed progression just yet and it means we could be in for a fairly open match.
It’s difficult to call a winner here but I would lean towards the Croatians. However, with plenty on the line for both nations, the pick that stands out is BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE at 4/5.
Croatia v Belgium best bets and score prediction
- 2pts Both Teams to Score at 4/5 (General)
Score prediction: Croatia 2-1 Belgium (Sky Bet odds: 17/2)
Odds correct at 1640 GMT (29/11/22)
World Cup: More from Sporting Life
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