World Cup: Croatia vs Belgium – Match preview

Our betting analysts at Ace Football preview the World Cup round 3 game between Croatia and Belgium and offer team news, stats, facts and the best betting suggestions for the match.

We’ve got a match between Croatia and Belgium on our hands which will kick off this coming Thursday. Their final game Group F will take place at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.

Croatia collected four points in their first two rounds of matches, ranking them as number one in Group F, while Belgium sit as number three on three points. Croatia go into their game on Thursday as number 12 in the FIFA world ranking, and Belgium enter the match as number 2.

Croatia are expected by the bookmakers to at least challenge for first place in their group. They would be disappointed to end the tournament after only three matches. Belgium are big favourites to top their group and not only that. They are also capable of laying claim to a place in the final, if all the margins work out right.

World Cup table overview: Croatia vs Belgium

Four points is a decent opening to the World Cup season, and just avoiding defeat in round three will keep Croatia in with a good shout at taking first place. Having so far lost and won a match in their World Cup group, Belgium still have the next round firmly in sight. A win here would go a long way in keeping that target in sight and getting through to the next round.

Team form: Croatia vs Belgium

Croatia Form

Croatia look good before their upcoming match, in which they seek to remain unbeaten. In their last three matches, they first beat Saudi Arabia by 0-1, before drawing 0-0 with Morocco. They were back as winners last time out, when they took out Canada 4-1. The Blazers were able to win seven of their previous 10 games across all tournaments, while drawing twice. They suffered defeat in one of these outings.

Belgium Form

Belgium are inconsistent at the moment with two defeats and a win to show from their last three matches. They lost 1-2 against Egypt and won 1-0 against Canada, before dropping points again in a 0-2 defeat against Morocco. The Red Devils claimed five wins in their last 10 matches across all tournaments, while also drawing one along the way. They endured defeat four times in this run.

Betting facts for Croatia and Belgium

Here are some fun facts that could come in handy when betting on the upcoming match between Croatia and Belgium. The facts are based on the data from matches played across all tournaments.

Players in form: Croatia vs Belgium

Look no further than Andrej Kramaric, when searching for a marksman currently in good shape. He hit the target three times lately for Croatia, while Michy Batshuayi managed three goals in the last half dozen matches for Belgium. No doubt, both are looking to add to their total once again.

Popular markets: Croatia vs Belgium

Full-time result

Croatia claimed all three points seven times in their last 10 matches across all tournaments, while also drawing two along the way. They endured defeat in one of the games in this run. Belgium have won five of their last 10 games, while drawing one and losing four in this series of matches. Croatia are on a fine streak of 8 matches without defeat.

Both teams to score

Croatia scored the first goal of the match in five games from a possible ten. Belgium scored the opening goal in five of a possible ten games. Of the previous 10 outings, Croatia scored the opening goal five times, whereas their opponents were first on target in five of their last 10 games.

Total goals

Croatia saw over 2.5 goals in five of their last ten matches across all tournaments, as they scored an average of 1.5 goals during this run. Over 2.5 goals appeared in five of the last ten matches that Belgium played across all tournaments. They scored 1.6 times on average in the process.

Betting suggestion: Croatia vs Belgium

To sum up, the upcoming match between Croatia and Belgium seems to be a good betting opportunity. Considering the above statements, we have come up with a betting prediction for this World Cup game.