Osijek vs Istra 1961 tips and predictions

Istra 1961 won't hurt Osijek?

It's fourth placed Osijek welcoming ninth placed Istra 1961 in this HNL clash as the home team looks to add to the 17-point gap that separates the sides.

The hosts are going into the match having won all of their last 3 games.

Reassuringly the home side has been impressive in defence. It's likely they'll maintain a clean sheet in this match-up; they have conceded no more than once in all of their last 12 home games. It's been well documented that the away team has been looking ragged under pressure. Away from home Istra 1961 have conceded three or more goals in 6 of their last 11 assignments. Adding to their problems, some of the attacking form shown by the visitors have been short of quality; they have averaged just 0.5 goals in their last 13 matches.

You'll have seen what happened in their previous meetings. Osijek have won 10 of the last 16 fixtures between the two teams. Some analysts like to ignore them but the head-to-head stats could be an insight into what lies ahead.

Perhaps this doesn't get going due to the favouritism for Osijek. Should it play out as many expect then the BTTS No could be sensible. As for the goal line, it's Under 1.5 Goals in this game considering the prices available.