Cyprus vs Croatia

Cyprus already look like a doomed outfit in World Cup qualification Group H as they play host to section-leaders Croatia at the AEK Arena.

World Cup qualification Group H is proving too tall of an order for Cyprus, who are nailed to the bottom of the section with just four points from a possible 18 (W1, D1, L4). Since stunning Slovenia 1-0 at home in March, the hosts have lost their subsequent three Group H matches by an aggregate score of 7-0, losing both halves ‘to nil’ twice in that run. The prospect of reaching their first-ever World Cup finals appearance will be out of the realm of possibility unless they can beat Croatia for the first time at the third attempt (L2). That will be easier said than done, especially considering Cyprus’ paltry goalscoring return of late, with Nikos Kostenoglou’s side failing to trouble the scoresheet in eight of their last nine international fixtures.

Meanwhile, the visitors have recovered from an early shock in the shape of a 1-0 away loss to Slovenia in their Group H curtain-raiser, going unbeaten in their subsequent five World Cup qualifiers (W4, D1). An impressive run of form has steered Croatia to the top of the section, though a top-place finish is not a foregone conclusion as they sit level on points with current runners-up Russia. Given Cyprus’ well-documented lack of firepower, this should be another plain sailing for the 2018 World Cup runners-up, who have kept their opponents at bay in their last five World Cup qualifying outings. Though they are widely expected to win this fixture, the Croats may do it by a tight margin, as five of their last eight triumphs have yielded a single-goal margin.