Croatia vs Slovakia prediction, preview, team news and more | 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Seeking a fourth win on the trot in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Croatia welcome Slovakia to the Poljud Stadium on Monday.

The visitors, meanwhile, fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Russia last time out and will look to quickly bounce back from that performance.

Croatia maintained their fine run of results in the World Cup qualifiers as they claimed a comprehensive 3-0 win over Cyprus.

This was a third win on the bounce for Zlatko Dalic’s men after they saw off Slovakia 1-0 on 1 September, before securing a 3-0 win over Slovenia three days later.

With 16 points from seven games, Croatia currently lead the way in Group H, level on points with Russia.

Meanwhile, Slovakia failed to make it two wins from two last time out as they were beaten 1-0 by Russia.

Prior to that, Stefan Tarkovic’s side claimed a 2-0 win over Cyprus when the sides squared off on September 7.

Russia head into Monday’s encounter winless in all but one of their most recent six outings, picking up one draw and losing one.

Croatia vs Slovakia Head-To-Head

Croatia have been dominant against the hosts and are unbeaten in each of their last five encounters. The hosts have picked up two wins, while three games have ended in draws.

Croatia Form Guide (all competitions): L-D-W-W-W

Slovakia Form Guide (all competitions): L-D-L-W-L

Croatia vs Slovakia Team News

Croatia

Following an injury-free encounter against Cyprus last time out, Croatia head into the game with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns.

Injured: None

Suspended: None

Slovakia

The visitors remain without the services of Stanislav Lobotka and Vladimir Weiss, who have been ruled out through muscle and hamstring injuries.

Injured: Stanislav Lobotka, Vladimir Weiss

Suspended: None

Croatia vs Slovakia Predicted XI

Croatia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Dominik Livaković; Josip Stanišić, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Joško Gvardiol, Borna Sosa; Luka Modrić, Marcelo Brozović, Mateo Kovačić; Nikola Vlašić, Andrej Kramarić, Ivan Perišić

Slovakia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Marek Rodák; Peter Pekarík, Ľubomír Šatka, Milan Škriniar, Jakub Holúbek; Marek Hamšík, Stanislav Lobotka, Juraj Kucka; Ivan Schranz, Erik Jirka, Róbert Mak

Croatia vs Slovakia Prediction

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Slovakia find themselves in the bottom half of Group H after an underwhelming start to the World Cup qualifiers. The hosts, meanwhile, head into the game on a blistering run and we predict they will maintain this fine string of results and extend their lead at the top of Group H.

Prediction: Croatia 3-1 Slovakia