Croatia will welcome Azerbaijan in their third qualifying match ahead of the upcoming EURO 2016 tournament. Interestingly, it will be the first meeting between these two sides, but while one has enjoyed relative success thus far, the other has faced disappointment in their first two fixtures.
Niko Kovac's men have earned six points out of six but it hasn't been a walk in the park. They struggled to break down a highly compact and defensive Maltese outfit and were fortunate to see Bulgaria score an own goal in the first half to escape with all three points from Sofia. To that end, with Italy next after this one, the Vatreni will obviously want to step up their game against a team that will be hungry and determined to finally earn their first point.
There has been a bit of turmoil within Croatia's camp with Hull City striker Nikica Jelavić abruptly calling time on his international career with the 29-year-old reportedly growing frustrated with his role within the team after being dropped against Bulgaria. And Kovac will still be concerned about the fitness of key players such as Luka Modric who is apparently struggling with a slight injury but the Real Madrid star should be fit to feature.
Azerbaijan were very close to causing an upset against the Azzurri after Giorgio Chiellini had gifted the Eastern European side a lifeline through an embarrassing own goal. t was certainly a night to remember for the Juventus center back as he ended up scoring two goals for the correct side to restore Italy's advantage and save new coach Antonio Conte from a whole host of worry.
On paper, at least, it appears that the hosts hold a slight advantage, but as the two teams have never faced off, anything indeed is possible in a match that could be potentially tricky for Croatia.
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