Rijeka
- HNK Rijeka go into Saturday’s HNL clash against NK Slaven Belupo at Stadion Rujevica as big favorites with the bookmakers, but the hosts have enough to win this one.
- They have been in good form with three wins and two draws in their last five competitive matches, including a 5-0 win over Hajduk and a 1-0 home victory against Gorica.
NK Slaven Belupo
- The odds reflect the clubs’ respective positions in the current SuperSport HNL table with Slaven sitting fourth on 26 points from 18 games, while Rijeka are two points behind in fifth on 24 points after 17 games.
- Slaven’s recent form is mixed, with the outlier being a 2-5 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb at home.
Head-to-Head
Historically, Rijeka have beaten Slaven40 times against 14 defeats and have won 3 of the last 4 meetings, including the 2-0 win they recorded in this fixture earlier in the season.
Key Players
- He sets them up to control tempo and pick their moments to press, so it will be a clash of styles against Mario Gregurina’s Slaven, who prefer to play a fast-paced game, press aggressively and win the ball in the attacking half in order to transition at speed.
- Gregurina has also been integrating some exciting young talents into his side with SHNL U21 Player of the Year Adriano Jagušić leading the way.
- Rijeka’s Toni Fruk is the club’s top league scorer and playmaker, while Slaven’s strikers do well on the counterattack and from set pieces.
Betting Insights
- HNK Rijeka are 1.58 favorites to beat NK Slaven Belupo at home in the HNL on Saturday.
- NK Slaven are 5.43 odds to take the points and the draw is 3.9.
- But the draw is quite possible and, given that Rijeka can grind out wins and are occasionally capable of going big against their big rivals, we will add the ‘Under 2.5 goals’ option at 1.85 into the selection as a little extra interest for those who might think this will be a close match.
Prediction
We think Slaven’s defensive issues against top-tier opposition should count against them and Rijeka can squeeze out a win .
