Wales v Croatia: Super Mario will halt Welsh revival

 

Wales come into their game against Croatia off the back of a 2-1 win over Scotland, but Dan Fitch thinks that their winning run will end here.

 

Wales v Croatia

Kick-Off: 19:45

Live on Sky Sports 1

 

If only Wales could play Scotland in every fixture. The 2-1 victory on Friday was the second time that the Welsh have snatched a late victory over the Scots having  been 1-0 down.

 

The fact that Wales achieved this with their talisman Gareth Bale off the pitch, speaks volumes for their improvement as a team unit, after a shaky start to Chris  Coleman's managerial reign.

 

That said, the whole of Wales will be hoping that Bale shakes off the stomach virus that forced him to be substituted at half-time against Scotland. The Tottenham star  trained with the squad on Sunday, so it looks likely that he will be available to start. Aaron Ramsey will be suspended following his late sending off against  Scotland.

 

Wales will certainly need Bale. Beating Scotland is one thing, but Croatia should prove to be a more difficult opponent. Following the win on Friday, there has been  some talk from the Welsh squad in regards to still being in with a shout for qualification. The seven points gap between Wales and Croatia suggests differently, as  does the fact that the Croats are odds-on at 1.75, even away from home.

 

Croatia are unbeaten in Group A, which included a 1-1 away draw against qualification rivals Belgium. Throw in the 4-0 friendly win over South Korea and Croatia are  unbeaten in their last six outings.

 

The reverse fixture between Croatia and Wales in Osijek, resulted in a routine 2-0 win for the home side. On that occasion Wales also went into the game on the back of  a win over Scotland, but found themselves outplayed in a match that saw Luka Modric pulling the strings and the Croats controlling the vast majority of the possession.

 

I'm not expecting tomorrow's match to be any different, but I'm a little cautious of a recommendation of a Croatia win at the available price. Instead I think that the  value lies in the goal markets.

 

Croatia have conceded in their last three away games and with Wales starting to look more of a goal threat recently, then the 2.12 for both teams to score looks a decent bet and one that I slightly favour over the 2.22 on offer for over 2.5 goals.

 

In terms of individual players then Bayern Munich's in-form Mario Mandzukic stands out ahead of everyone. After two seasons in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, in which  his goal average was a respectable but not outstanding one in every three games, Mandzukic has stepped up a gear since joining Bayern. So far this season the Croatian  has 18 goals in 30 appearances, including 15 in 21 Bundesliga matches.

 

This form has been transferred to the international arena. Again, Mandzukic's overall record of 11 in 38 games is hardly remarkable, but he has scored the opening goal  in each of Croatia's last three games. You can back him at 5.4 to score first and 2.26 to score at any time.

 

Recommended Bets

Back both teams to score at 2.12

Back Mario Manzukic to score at 2.26

 

Bet HERE

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