Following defeats for both sides in the opening round of group games, Croatia and Albania meet at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion on Wednesday afternoon.
The Croatians suffered a disappointing 3-0 loss against Spain last time out, while the Albanians recorded a 2-1 defeat against Italy.
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If you’re looking for stats, trends and analysis, Forebet has you covered. Read on to find out what our predictive analytics model forecasts for Wednesday’s showdown.
Croatia’s Euro 2024 campaign got off to the worst possible start on Saturday, as they conceded three goals in the space of 14 first-half minutes.
Despite registering 54% possession and 16 shots against Spain, the Croatians failed to find a way through, with a Bruno Petkovic goal being disallowed.
That defeat ended a six-game unbeaten streak for Croatia, who picked up an impressive 2-1 victory over Portugal in their final warm-up match.
Having won eight of their last 11 matches – including penalty shootouts – the 2018 World Cup runners-up will back themselves to kick-start their campaign on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Albania were gifted the quickest goal in European Championship history on Saturday, with Nedim Bajrami scoring after just 23 seconds against Italy.
However, the Albanians failed to hold onto their lead and eventually lost 2-1 against the reigning champions, conceding 69% possession and 17 shots in the process.
Albania enjoyed a hugely impressive Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, losing just one of their eight matches while conceding a measly four goals.
That said, Sylvinho’s side have only managed to win two of their previous seven games across all competitions, losing three of their last five.
Head-to-head: This is the first-ever meeting between Croatia and Albania, meaning there are no H2H statistics to evaluate for this fixture.
Team news: Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic is expected to continue with his favoured 4-3-3 formation, with Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic starting in midfield.
On the flip side, Albania will likely line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Chelsea striker Armando Broja leading the line once again.
Although Albania gave a good account of themselves against Italy, Croatia’s experience and tournament know-how will likely shine through on Wednesday.
Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts that Croatia will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to defeating Albania.