Russia vs Croatia Betting Tips

Russia managed to sneak into a automatic qualification spot for Euro 2016 thanks to their form towards the end of Group G.

They won all of their last four matches in qualifying, including a 1-0 win over 3^rd place finishers Sweden in what has turned out to be a crucial result.

Group G winners Austria were the only team to get the better of them in Euro 2016 qualifying, beating them 1-0 on both occasions. These results and their draws against Sweden and Moldova saw them end the group with 20 points.

The Russians are pretty difficult to beat, with only Austria triumphing over them in their last 16 outings since their loss against Belgium in the World Cup.

Croatia also finished 2^nd in their Euro 2016 qualifying group, with their back to back wins at the end of qualifying being crucial in holding off a Norway side desperate to overtake them.

Croatia eventually finished on 20 points, one point more than Norway. But they’re not in the best of form in general.

They have only won four of their last nine games including friendlies, with Norway and Argentina beating them and Italy and Azerbaijan holding them to draws.

The last two meetings between these sides have both ended as goalless draws, but with Russia scoring 13 goals in their last five games I’m not expecting a repeat of those results.

But Croatia may be worried about their own scoring chances. They have only scored five in their last five matches, with three of them coming in one match. Russia have only conceded once in their last five outings as well.

Backing a Russia Clean Sheet at 11/8 looks like a pretty good bet, but I think going for an outright Russia Win at 23/20 is more valuable, so that’s what I’m backing. I’m also going for a 2-0 correct scoreline at 8/1.