FOOTBALL journalist Adam Goodwin (@AGJournalism) runs the rule over Thursday night's Nations League clash between Croatia and Spain.
Croatia v Spain | Thursday 15th November 2018, 19:45 | Sky Sports
Croatia haven’t been in great form of late and, apart from a dull 1-0 win over Jordan in a recent friendly, haven’t won a game since the World Cup final.
The Blazers lost that final 4-2 to France and have failed to win their three games after that defeat. They drew 1-1 with Portugal and 0-0 with England but, more embarrassingly, were smashed 6-0 by Spain in Elche in September.
It was a shocking performance from the Croats, who had one shot on-target, no corners and just 32% possession.
If you’d like to back Spain to win 6-0 again, you can get 350/1 with Bet365. I don’t fancy it myself, but Croatia will certainly need to put in an improved performance on Thursday night.
The 0-0 draw against England in Rijeka was played in-front of no fans and did nothing to help the performance of either team. Their will be a crowd for this one and should lead to a better game between these two sides.
Spain
After a disappointing World Cup, Spain have bounced back pretty well from their poor performance in the summer. They’ve scored 14 goals in four games since the tournament, winning three and losing one.
That defeat to England was a huge result for the Three Lions and although Gareth Southgate’s side dominated the first-half, Spain grew into the game and looked good in the second-half. England failed to have a shot after half-time and if Spain can put in a similar performance on Thursday, they should beat Croatia quite comfortably.
Spain are unbeaten in their last 13 away games and have won four of their last five. They’ve also scored 32 goals in those games, so you’d think the can bag at least another couple on Thursday.
The betting angle
Croatia’s form of late has been extremely worrying and I really like the look of Spain at 15/13 with Unibet.
The Spaniards know they can qualify for Euro 2020 with a win, and I expect them to do just that.
Best Bets
Croatia v Spain – Spain to win (15/13 Unibet)
