Wales begin life without Gareth Bale when they travel to the Stadion Poljud to take on Croatia on Saturday evening (19:45). We’ve previewed this game and provided you with some suggested best bets for the occasion.
Croatia vs Wales Tips
Wales (5/1) will embark on a new era this weekend, after Gareth Bale hung up his boots after the 2022 World Cup.
The former Real Madrid winger was a central figure to the most successful period in the history of Welsh football, scoring 41 goals in 111 international appearances, as well as leading Wales to qualify for three of the past four major tournaments.
Joe Allen, Chris Gunter and Jonny Williams are also out of the picture having stepped down from international duty last month, and manager Rob Page has selected four uncapped players to begin their Euro 2024 campaign with the daunting task of overcoming a side they have never recorded a victory over.
Meanwhile, Croatia (4/7) continue to defy expectations, reaching the round of 16 in the 2016 and 2020 European Championships, as well as the World Cup final in 2018, and finishing third in Qatar at the end of last year.
Luka Modric has been a key figure amidst the success that Croatia have enjoyed under Zlatko Dalic, and he doesn’t look like slowing down any time soon.
Team News
Brennan Johnson is a fitness doubt for this one after picking up a groin injury, so Daniel James could be given the nod to start in Croatia.
Meanwhile, Wayne Hennessey and Ben Davies have both been forced to withdraw from the Wales squad, with Danny Ward and Ben Cabango in line to feature ahead of the pair.
As for Croatia, Josip Sutalo is expected to start in the centre of defence alongside Josko Gvardiol, while Luka Modric will start in midfield.
Croatia to win and under 2.5 total goals @ 11/5
Wales have not won in eight games since they qualified for the World Cup, losing six, and as mentioned above, Wales haven’t beaten Croatia in their previous since attempts.
Meanwhile, Zlatko Dalic’s side boast an outrageous record in the Euros, having never lost a qualifying match on home soil in 35 matches.
I think goals will be of a premium in this clash – across the six games Croatia played at the World Cup, under 2.5 goals were scored on four occasions, three of which finished goalless in 90 minutes.
In addition, of the eight games Wales have played since they qualified for the World Cup, the Dragons have only found the net six times with half of those games seeing two or fewer goals scored.
Marko Livaja to score anytime @ 5/4
The Hadjuk Split star has been in lethal form this season, so I think backing him to bag anytime on Saturday is a decent shout.
Livaja has scored 17 goals in 25 appearances this term, and I expect Croatia to dominate possession which should culminate in plenty of chances to score, especially if Luka Modric is pulling the strings.
*All prices correct at the time of writing.
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