Prediction: Brazil vs Croatia

Prediction: Brazil win

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker: bet365

While the World Cup may still be over a week away, that doesn’t mean that the teams who are heading to Russia are waiting around. Instead, they’re gearing up for a series of warm-up games, with one of the most intriguing ones set to take place tomorrow night when Brazil face Croatia. This is an encounter which opened the 2014 edition of the tournament, and now, both nations will be attempting to gain as much momentum as they can en-route to the summer spectacular.

Brazil

Despite seemingly flowing under the radar with a solid qualifying campaign, Brazil are still considered to be the favourites to bring home their sixth World Cup trophy. They’ve got a strong squad and a favourable group, although they’ll be attempting not to panic regarding their injury worries. They’ll head to Russia knowing that there’s less pressure on their shoulders now that they won’t be hosting the tournament, which could do wonders for their confidence.

Team News

Neymar and Firmino will likely be rested, with Costa and Augusto also being ruled out.

Croatia

Croatia are always considered to be a dark horse heading into international tournaments, and while they aren’t expected to go all the way, they could cause a stir in what looks to be the most competitive group of the tournament. They still haven’t confirmed their final squad as of yet, meaning that we’ll likely see a lot of rotation throughout the game against Brazil. With the WC being just around the corner, this is a big chance for them to make a huge statement.

Team News

The likes of Modric and Kovacic may not be risked ahead of the World Cup.

Factors to Consider

• Brazil have won four of their last five, including a victory over world champions Germany.
• Croatia have lost just once in their last six games.
• Brazil are undefeated in three games against Croatia, with two of their encounters coming at the World Cup.
• Croatia will play Argentina, Nigeria & Iceland in their WC group.
• Brazil will play Switzerland, Costa Rica & Serbia in their WC group.
• The game will take place at Anfield in Liverpool, England.

Conclusion

We’re excited to see what both of these teams are going to bring to the table in Russia, but we don’t think they’re going to give that much away in this one. Brazil are the favourites to win the tournament for a reason, and with that in mind, we’ll go for them to narrowly edge out Croatia 2-1.

Prediction: Brazil win

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker: bet365